The Divided Republic
by AvatarAang7
Summary: A new age brings new threats. Korra is forced to take drastic steps to ensure the survival of Republic City. But will it be enough? T rating is for language, and some violence later on in the story.
1. The City of Dreams

It's the year 200 AG. Avatar Korra has traveled from her home in the Southern Water Tribe to her apartment in Republic City on special request from Chief of Police Mako, the successor of Lin Beifong. Well, special request might be a little bit of an overstatement, it was more of a friendly telephone call. She is looking forward to seeing her friends again. It has been a busy few years. Even though the Air Acolytes have been a great help, reviving an entire culture is not an easy task. People also haven't been too happy about the spirits living in the physical world. It took her the best part of the last 25 years to teach the ordinary people how to live alongside the spirits, that they can live together.

Korra thinks back to the time she first arrived in Republic City. How amazed she was by it all. Lin Beifong, who nearly threw her in jail. Tenzin, who nearly sent her all the way back home. Joining the Fire Ferrets. The Equalist Revolution. It seems so long ago. And there it is; the place her Avatar journey really began. She once again gazes upon the shining skyscrapers, the massive statue of Aang. As the airship begins its descent to the airport, she starts to pack her things, and finds out she forgot the yuans.

"Great," Korra thinks, "I guess I'll have to walk to my apartment." But when she has touched down, to her surprise, she sees Mako there. The two warmly greet each other, after which they walk to Mako's car.

"I didn't expect you here," says Korra.

-"I had a little spare time so I decided to pick you up. Where are you staying?"

"My apartment. I haven't been there in so long, it's almost pointless to still keep it."

- "I'm sure Pema would be happy to let you stay on Air Temple Island."

Korra sighs. Air Temple Island hasn't been the same since Tenzin passed away 5 years ago. Rebuilding the Air Nation really took a toll on him. Ever since, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan have moved to the other four air temples, taking the position of head monk or sister, since they are the last of the original line of airbenders and are considered to be the great masters of the art. But she turns her attention to Mako again.

"Mako, why did you ask me to come here?"

-"In a word? Timing. As you are probably well aware, the 100th anniversary of the Battle at Wulong Forest is in two weeks. The city is planning a lot of festivities, and naturally the security fell on me."

"You want me as a glorified security guard? I have better things to do with my time."

-"No. Sozin's Comet is also coming back, and I'm worried."

"About what? The Fire Nation invading again? That was 200 years ago, and they were ruled by a mad man. Fire Lord Iroh is nothing like Fire Lord Sozin."

-"It's not the Fire Nation I'm worried about. It's the firebending triads here in the city."

By now, they had arrived at Korra's apartment building. A modern building, with all glass walls, 75 stories high and naturally, Korra lived in the penthouse on the top floor.

"Korra, I have to go. Can you drop by my office tomorrow morning?"

-"First thing. Good to see you again."

"Likewise. See you tomorrow!"

And with that, he drove off. When she got to the her apartment, she thought about what Mako said. If the firebending triads really were planning something big, waiting for the arrival of Sozin's Comet seems logical. If both the Agni Kais and the Infernos were planning an all-out turf war with each other, the whole city would burn. The alternative seemed even worse: those two together against the Triple Threats. With that, she decided to turn in for the night.

The next morning, she arrived at the police headquarters early, just as she agreed of with Mako. She walked into his office, which, unlike most offices in this building, was a very pleasant one to be in. Light and with high ceilings, it had a certain breeziness about it. Korra came straight to the point:

"So what is it that has you so worried about the triads? Turf war?"

-"No, it's bigger than that. There haven't been any reported skirmishes between the Agni Kai's and the Infernos in weeks. That's just not right. Those two are supposed to be in a conflict with each other every few days I fear they might want to seize control over the entire city."

"But how would they do that? They would have to take out hundreds of police officers and city officials. And even if they managed to do that, they would have to keep out the United Forces, which the police could call in if that were to happen."

-"That's the problem: I am not certain that is what's about to happen. I can't call in hundreds of soldiers on a hunch."

"But you are right. With Sozin's Comet on their side, the police don't stand a chance. They would be outmatched and outnumbered if both of them had the same bright idea and were working together."

-"That's why I called you here. With the Avatar on our side, we could tip the balance back in or favor. I mean, even the most hardened criminals will think twice about picking a fight with a fully realized Avatar."

"I see. I'm not even a security guard, I'm a babysitter."

-"Korra," Mako said, slightly annoyed, can I count on your help or not?"

"Of course you can, but first, there is a party to organize. If you would be so kind to plan me into a speech at City Hall, that way, I'm close enough to help if anything goes wrong, and people will also know I am here."

As the days went by, Korra spent more of her time walking through the city, visiting old friends. She was glad to see Opal again. On special request from Tenzin, she and Bolin moved to Air Temple Island, where they had three children: an airbender, an earthbender and another airbender, much to their relief. The oldest, Yin, had just received her airbender tattoos at the age of fifteen. Opal and Pema were waiting for her when Korra stepped on the jetty. They greeted each other and quickly moved to the inside. It was just going to be them, as Bolin was in the Fire Nation on business.

"How's Bolin?" Korra asked.

-"Oh, you know, always busy," replied Opal. "Nuktuk Studios is really gobbling up a lot of his time, but he's very happy there. But why did you decide to come to Republic City again all of a sudden?"

"Mako asked. He wants to make sure the centennial jubilee of Wulong Forest goes smoothly."

-"Was there ever any cause for concern?"

"Well, it was typically smooth going, but with Sozin's Comet returning, he's worried. From what I heard in the city, rightfully so."

-"The firebending triads," said Pema.

"Correct. Do me a favor, will you? Don't leave the air temple. Between San and all the airbenders, this is probably the safest place for you in the city."

-"Hmm." Pema sounded worried. "That's what they thought 200 years ago, and guess what."

"Fair enough, but still. Harbor patrol units won't let anyone near the island in case riots break out, as always, but Mako already scheduled military police this time around. Just in case. So if things go wrong, you'll have plenty of firebenders on your side."

-"Better than nothing I guess, but Mako isn't that concerned for us. What's his other motive?"

"He wants every available officer in the city. That's why I'm here, and I'm asking you to stay on the island. Military police is nearly impossible to reason with, since they only listen to someone higher up the food chain."

-"Okay. But you have to tell the children can't celebrate this year."

"Fine."

After finishing her tea, Korra went outside to find the children by the giant yin yang.

"Korra!" They exclaimed, perfectly synchronized.

"Heads up!" yelled San, as he bent an earth disc at her. Korra caught it, and hurled it back at him. The airbending sisters were quick to follow in their brother's footsteps and both sent a gust of air her way. Korra propelled herself in the air with firebending, and pulled a ring of water around her which she used to deflect another one of San's earth discs. She uses the water freeze each of the children to the ground.

"Not fair!" yells Song.

"Hey, you're also going to face waterbenders in the real world, so get used to it," Korra dryly remarks, as she frees them again.

Yin proudly came up to Korra. "What do you think of them?" gesturing to her arrows.

"Very nice. You mastered airbending a lot faster than I did. I'm impressed. Now, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. You can't go into the city with the 100th anniversary of Wulong Forest."

-"What? Why not?" cried the kids, again perfectly synchronized.

"Your uncle Mako told me he has a feeling something bad is going to happen. He doesn't want you in the city in case he's right. Neither do I, for that matter."

-"Mom will go with us, as she does every year. Then it will be fine," said Yin.

"No, I already talked with your mother about this. She agrees with me. If Mako says so, it is so. Look, I'm really sorry about this, but both of us really care about your safety. I know it sucks, but it's for this time only. Next year, everything will be back to normal.

Korra hated disappointing the children like this. The festival was always a lot of fun, she had to admit. They often went together, so she felt really bad she had to imprison them like this, but it would be for the best.

A week before the festival, Korra went to the astronomy tower, located on the mountains on the northern edge of the city limits. The head observer was a man called Tanaka. The best in the business, as they say.

-"Avatar Korra, how nice to welcome you to the observatory!"

"Thank you. Good to be here."

-"What brings you here?"

"Guess."

-"Sozin's Comet."

"Bingo. How's it doing?"

-"Straight and true, just as always. It will be here by the day of the festival, just like the calendar says it will. We have been monitoring it for some time now. People have been showing a lot of interest in it."

"What kind of people?"

-"Oh, you know, the Chief of Police has been up here, at least a dozen school classes, and a handful of others."

"Any of them firebenders?"

-"Not that I know of. But come to mention it, there was this one fellow who didn't really seem like the type for this kind of thing. You know, mobster type, tattoos on his neck, that kind of guy."

Korra's eyes went wide. "A tattoo of two dices?"

-"Yes, I think so. You know him?"

"What did you tell him?"

-"Nothing I haven't told anyone else. When the comet will be here, what time we can see it, that kind of stuff."

"Damn. Listen, I have to go. Thanks for telling me this!"

With that, Korra made for Mako's office as fast as she could. As she barged in, he and the borough lieutenants were in a meeting. Mako wasn't too happy about it.

-"Korra, you can't just barge in here like this. We are in a clos..."

But Korra interrupted him. "You were right. About the triads, something big happening, everything."

-"What? How can you be so sure?" He nodded to the lieutenants: "Give us a minute."

"I just came from the astronomy tower. Snake Eyes has been there and he knows everything. Precisely what time we can see the comet, how long it will be in the sky, he knows it all."

-"That doesn't prove it."

"Are you kidding me? It was your theory! Do you really expect me to believe in the major coincidence that the leader of one of the firebending triads also happens to be an amateur astronomer?"

-"Fair enough."

"He asked about the comet, Mako. We need to prepare for everything you thought might happen. We need every bender in Republic City on our side, especially firebenders. If we're going up against even just one of the triads, we need every advantage we can get. You start drawing up battle strategies, I need to get in front of a microphone."

-"And say what? Firebenders of Republic City, this is your Avatar. Sozin's Comet is returning and the firebending triads are going to take over the city! Help me defend against them!" Mako mockingly said. "Korra, all we have is fairly strong circumstantial evidence, but not much more than that. One eye witness is placing a person of interest at a good place, but I can't lock down a city of three million people on that. If you start spilling this across the radio, there will be no telling what the consequences will be."

"But you were the one that called me here. You did so with a good reason, and the longer I have been here, the more I get the feeling you were right all along. Answer me this, and answer me honestly, or I am out of here. Did you call me here, just because you knew I wouldn't let this go and I would investigate it discreetly, without risking any leaks?"

-"Partly. I do trust you, more than I trust my own department. And yes, I trusted that you would start asking around, discreetly. But I mostly want you here, on the day the comet comes. I want you here to make sure everything goes smoothly."

Korra grimaced. "Well, at least I got that out of you. But why don't you listen to me, if I did exactly what you expected me to do?"

-"I do believe you, and my own gut feelings. But between those two and the triads, there is the festival. Republic City is the place to be that night."

"All that stuff is politics. Your job is not to worry about politics, but about the safety of the people."

-"That's what I do. I've already called in every officer and even have the military police on stand-by. I can't do anything else. My hands are tied."

"Forget it. I'll do it myself."

-"Korra, don't do anything stupid!" But before he could finish, she walked out the door.

Korra was properly pissed. Not only did one of her oldest friends blatantly lie to her, he used her, which was even worse. She knew he was right. She faced a choice: go behind Mako's back, and take matters into her own hands, and risk losing his trust and friendship, or try to do it the official way, and risk losing countless lives. Back at her apartment, she had decided. Korra picked up a telephone and dialed.

"Opal? I need a favor. I need to know where Bolin is staying."


	2. Fire Lord Iroh

Korra's journey to the Fire Nation was a quick one. She used Bolin's speedboat, which he had custom made to be one of the fastest in the world. The Mo Ce Sea was calm, so she had no trouble what so ever crossing it. The Great Gates of Azulon were open, and now the Royal Plaza came into view. All in all, it went a lot smoother then the last time Korra went to the Fire Nation in order to persuade the Fire Lord to lend military support to her.

As Korra was about to dock, she saw that two Imperial Firebenders were waiting for her. As she stepped ashore, both of them bowed to her.

"Avatar Korra, welcome to the Fire Nation. Would you care for an escort to the Royal Palace?"

"No, not yet anyway. I'm here to meet an old friend. He's residing in the Blue Dragon Hotel. I could use a ride, if you're going that direction anyway."

"Of course, no problem. Follow us."

They preceded her to a luxurious Sato mobile, bearing the crest of Fire Lord Iroh. At least the right people had been informed of her arrival. She grinned as she remembered something she read a long time ago; "Competence is such a rare bird in these woods, I always take time to appreciate it when I see one.".

They used the spiral tunnel to climb the volcano, carved by Toph Beifong herself on special request of Fire Lord Zuko. It made a full circle along the side of the volcano, as the mountain road was considered too slow and scaling it directly was not possible for a car.

They quickly arrived at the Blue Dragon Hotel. Korra thanked her escort and went inside. She asked for Bolin, and fortunately the receptionist knew exactly who she was talking about. Korra found him in the restaurant.

"I fly halfway around the world and you still make me go to a different continent to meet you?" she sarcastically remarked.

-"What can I say? Business is business." Bolin had been working on that, Korra knew.

As they both laughed, they warmly greeted each other. Bolin wanted to order lunch for the two of them, but Korra was forced to come straight to the point.

"Bolin, I know this is going to sound blunt, but I need your help. Things in Republic City aren't going well, and if I'm correct, the city will burn when Sozin's Comet comes. I need you there in case things go wrong."

-"Mako has taken precautions, he's told me."

"I'd sleep a lot easier if you were at Air Temple Island. Opal made a good point about the last time we thought the air temples were safe when the comet came."

-"I'm shooting a movie on location here, I'm going to have to make some arrangements, but fine, if you really want me to, I'll go."

"Thanks."

-"What is this whole "city will burn" stuff about? Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic?"

"The firebending triads are up to something big. I don't know what but it's something big. And they're going to do it when Sozin's Comet comes."

-"Something big? How big? Burn down the city or just each other?"

"No, not that bi..." Korra's eyes went wide as she suddenly realized what they could possibly have to gain that day. She quickly organized her thoughts and turned to Bolin again. "That's it. It's been staring me in the face this whole time and I just didn't see it. They're going to destroy the other triads."

-"Makes sense. But what are you so worried about? They have turf wars every week. I'd say it's a good thing if a few would be cleaned up. Doing the police's job for them."

"I'm worried about collateral damage, and we can't just sit on our hands while they murder hundreds of people, even if they are criminals."

-"Fair enough."

"Listen, I came here to persuade the Fire Lord to lend his support. Mako is being too stubborn to call in the United Forces, and we need as many firebenders on our side as possible. If our suspicions are true, the firebending triads are joining forces on this."

-"Ooh, that's bad news."

"Considerably. Alright. You do whatever you still have to do, but get back to Republic City as soon as possible. I'll talk to Iroh and see what I can get out of him."

They went their separate ways, as Korra headed for the Royal Palace. She kept pondering about how she could have been so blind. On one hand, it wouldn't be too bad. Even though she couldn't say these things out loud, Bolin did have a point. But there was also the risk of replacing one evil with an even greater one. She had to stop them.

Once inside the palace, the Fire Lord had made time for her. The Fire Nation had similar issues, of course, but the United Republic always had a special place in Iroh's heart. He had been general of their army for a good reason. Korra was being escorted by two Imperial Firebenders, even though she knew her way around the palace. Korra heard that she was announced to Iroh, and stepped into the throne room.

It was remodeled by Zuko after the War. He wanted to get rid of the symbol of a darker time, when hate fueled firebending. He instead made its appearance more closely resemble the classical style it was before Avatar Roku destroyed it in his fight with Sozin. Korra always liked this room much more than the one in the Earth Kingdom. It had a light feeling and atmosphere to it, aided by the kind and open personality of Fire Lord Iroh.

She did uphold the tradition, and bowed respectfully to the ruler. "Your majesty."

He bowed back. "Avatar Korra. How nice to see you again."

"I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but unfortunately, this is the hand we've been dealt."

-"Yes. I understand you need my help."

"Well, not your help specifically, but yes. I need firebenders who can help me defend Republic City. I've stumbled across a conspiracy of the major triads. If they can manage to bring these ideas into practice when Sozin's Comet comes, a lot of people are going to die."

-"Why not just ask the president?"

"The president always agrees with the Chief of Police. And he told me he couldn't do anything. He said that all we had was a hunch, no solid evidence."

-"Is that true?"

"Yes, but he's trying to ignore the circumstantial evidence because it's easy. A lot of circumstantial evidence is pointing in the direction of something big, enough for me to make the trip here."

-"You understand that officially, there isn't much I can do. I can't march my soldiers into Republic City, just because you are reasonably certain something bad is going to happen."

"And unofficially?"

-"I trust your judgment, Korra. I want to believe you, and help you, but I also want to avoid an international incident."

"Of course, and I've thought about this."

-"You came prepared."

Korra smiled. "The Imperial Firebenders are officially no soldiers. They have sworn their allegiance to the crown, but they are not under the formal command of any military leader, except for you. If you could send them with me to the Republic, I would have my army."

-"I'm impressed. You really have done your homework."

"Thank you."

Iroh thought for a moment. "Alright," he said, "I'll send them with you. But they are leaving their uniforms here. That way, no one can accuse the Fire Nation. They will just be extremely talented firebenders in the right place at the right time."

"Fantastic. That was exactly what I was hoping for."

-"Shall we go to the captain of the guard?"

The Fire Lord preceded her to the quarters of the Royal Procession, in the basement of the palace. Everyone immediately stood up when they noticed Iroh had walked in. "As you were, gentlemen. Captain, we have some business to discuss."

They went into the office of captain Mori. He was huge. At least a full head tall than herself, and half a head taller than Iroh. He struck Korra as a pragmatic man, a feeling that was confirmed by the interior design of his office. It was a little more than a glass box with everything Korra expected to see in one of a man in his position: a detailed blueprint of the palace (one for every level of course), a calendar with the important people visiting (Korra was a little bummed she wasn't on there), and the rest of the wall space was taken up by filing cabinets. The only decoration was a clock that definitely came from the Earth Kingdom. He invited them to sit down. Iroh, being the humble man he is, insisted on taking the simple wooden chair, while the captain sat in his comfortable desk chair. Korra took the remaining chair, and Iroh came to business.

"Captain, you and your men are taking a trip. You're going to Republic City when the comet comes."

-"Excuse me sir, but, could you explain that? We have the palace to guard that day."

"I know. But Avatar Korra has made a special request and a good point."

Captain Mori turned his attention to Korra.

"We have a big celebration coming, the 100th anniversary of the end of the Hundred Year War."

-"Yes, I'm well aware of this. My men and I have been preparing for this for weeks. And now you want to drag us to a different continent?"

"Yes. Believe me, I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't absolutely necessary. We have evidence of a massive gang war brewing, and that it's going to erupt during the arrival of Sozin's Comet. Normally the police can deal with it, but now we need firebenders, and the police simply doesn't have adequate staffing for that. The United Forces won't intervene unless they receive a direct order from the president, and he adamantly refuses to give it."

-"Okay, you are making sense. But, sir, if I may, why are you agreeing with this? We have our own problems in the Fire Nation."

Iroh nodded approvingly. "Correct, but unlike the United Republic, we have plenty of firebenders to fend off the ones that are up to no good. I'll simply order the regular soldiers to defend the palace in your place. Temporarily, of course."

-"Of course."

"Avatar Korra will be in command in my absence, and you will be leaving your uniforms here," Iroh continued, "I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention to the Fire Nation. You are simply tourists out to enjoy the festival. But let's talk numbers. How many men can you get by tomorrow morning?"

-"Six dozen, if I push it."

"Korra, you think you can work with it?"

"72 of the best firebenders in the country? That'll give those triads a run for their money."

-"We certainly will, ma'am. One more small item of business; where are my men going to sleep? All hotels and campsites will be booked, so close to the festival."

Iroh thought for a while. "I can call in a few of my old army contacts. They'll have a place for 72 men."

Now it was Korra's turn to be worried. "Won't that attract a lot of attention?"

"The people I know can be very discreet, if necessary. If anyone can do it without setting off a lot of bells and whistles, it's them."

The rest of the planning went smoothly. They ironed out the kinks, as Mori's pragmatic personality came up with some great ideas to keep the men undercover until it was necessary for them to act. Korra and Iroh soon were on their way again, when Iroh asked: "Korra, where are you planning on staying?"

"I don't really know, I hadn't planned that far ahead. Bolin is staying in the Blue Dragon. Maybe he can spare a bunk. That, or I'll just go back to the United Republic."

-"Nonsense, you're staying here in the palace. Bolin too. I'll send an escort for him."

After dinner, Korra wandered around the palace for a bit, and mumbled a little to herself.

"72 of the best firebenders in the world. This should be good."

"Make that 73," said a strangely familiar voice behind them. Korra turned around and was pleasantly surprised.

"Lord Zuko... You want to come with us?"

-"The United Republic is my baby. It has grown up, but I will not stand by idly as it burns. It and you, Avatar Korra, are my last attachments to my all-time best friend."

Korra was completely lost for words. Even at 116 years old, Zuko was widely regarded as the best firebender in the world. Much like his great grandfather, it was rumored that Sozin's Comet gave him the energy that allowed him to grow so old, and still be this vigorous. Unlike said great grandfather though, he fought an Agni Kai when the comet last came, which must have supercharged him or something.

"I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, Lord Zuko."

-"It is my pleasure. When do we leave?"

"I'm going back tomorrow. I have a boat docked down at the Capital Plaza, you can go with me if you'd like to."

-"Thanks, but no thanks, I'm going by dragon."

Korra smiled. It didn't surprise her, given that Zuko was one for standing on tradition. Fire Lords travel by dragon, that's the way it always had been and that's the way it should be, even though he was retired.

Later that evening, Bolin and Korra sat down to enjoy a cup of tea together.

-"So I heard you got your army. Six dozen. It's not a lot to protect a city of three million."

"It'll do. Plus, I have an ace in the hole. Zuko."

Bolin spit out his tea in surprise. "What? A century-old retiree?"

"Well, nobody seems to have told him that. Trust me, he's the best at what he does: protect the people he cares about and bend fire."

-"Okay, but still. That's the best you can come up with?"

"Do you have something better, because I am open to suggestions. I going to leave tomorrow morning, do you want to go with me?"

-"Are you seriously inviting me along on my own boat?"

"Yes."

Bolin gave her the "raised eyebrow" look, but he still agreed. Korra was glad to hear that. It would be a fun surprise for Opal and his children. She was escorted to one of the guest bedrooms, in the western wing of the palace. It had a very traditional Fire Nation design: lots of red in the color scheme, a large fireplace, candles in every corner, and a large banner on the wall with the Fire Nation logo. Cozy. Still, the bed was soft and the pillow comfortable. Still a little pleased with herself about the firebenders she managed to get to go to Republic City, she quickly dozed off and enjoyed a good night sleep.

The return journey was fun. Bolin was stylishly late at the dock, but that only meant they could see if they could still catch up with Zuko and Druk. They spotted them right before they were going to dock at Air Temple Island.

When they stepped ashore again, Opal, Yin, San and Song were waiting for them on the jetty.

"Dad!" Korra was surprised every time that those kids could speak so perfectly synchronized. As they hugged him, Bolin lifted Song, the youngest, on his arm, and kissed Opal.

Song asked: "Did you bring us anything from the Fire Nation?"

Bolin had to disappoint them: "No, I had to leave in a hurry. Ask Korra."

Korra was shocked: "Oh, so now it's my fault?"

"Well, you were the one who forced me to drop everything and come back here."

"Ahem." Zuko had joined them and was clearly not in the mood for this bickering. "Shall we get down to business?"

"You're right, Lord Zuko." Korra said. "Bolin, I need to visit your brother."

Zuko insisted on giving her a lift to the police headquarters, and Mako had seen them coming. By the time they had dismounted, Mako had come out of the building. He was not very pleased to see them making a stir like this.

"Korra, what are you doing here? And why do you have Lord Zuko with you? And why a dragon?!"

"Calm down, Mako. I'll explain everything inside." She briefly turned her attention to Zuko again. "Lord Zuko, thank you for the ride. Would you like to go inside for a cup of tea?"

-"No, thank you Korra. I have a few arrangements to make." And with one swing of his mighty wings, Druk was in the air and they were on their way again.

"Now, Mako, I have traveled a long way, and could use a good cup of tea. What do you say."

Korra didn't wait for his answer and went inside, walking past a bewildered Mako.

In Mako's office, she poured herself a cup of tea by the time Mako walked in. His expression of "can somebody please explain to me what's going on" had changed into one of "you have got to be kidding me".

Korra was the first one to break the silence.

"Mako, you look like you have some questions. Shoot."

-"Yes. What are you doing here? Or more specifically: why did you bring Lord Zuko with you?"

"Well, you didn't agree to get more firebenders from the United Forces, so I took matters into my own hands. Tadaa!" as she made a triumphant gesture to Zuko. "But that's not why we came straight here. We figured out their plan. The Infernos and Agni Kais are going to try to destroy the other triads. It's going to be a turf war like no one has ever seen."

-"Makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that you traveled to a different continent to pick up one century-old retiree."

Korra smiled. "Hmm, must run in the family. Anyway, I also picked up Bolin, he was in the Fire Nation. I discussed business with Fire Lord Iroh, but there was nothing he could do. Zuko offered to come, I didn't ask him for anything, but it was as good an offer as any."

-"So no military of any sort?"

"Well, Iroh is actually on your side with this. He made a good point that he can't just march his army through the streets because I asked him to."

-"Damn straight he can't."

"But all those things are details. Look, you need to concentrate your firebenders in the vicinity of the other triads' headquarters. That is the big issue here."

-"Korra, those are far apart, and none of them are close to the city centre, where most people are going to be. I need more certainty."

"Mako, please. Why don't you trust me on this like you once did?"

He gave her a look which told Korra she had him right where she wanted him.


	3. And the Sky Ran Red

Korra was worried sick - literally. The comet would be arriving tomorrow evening and the Imperial Firebenders weren't here yet. She was sweating bullets, had a massive headache, eaten next to nothing, and barely slept for three days. She had gone down to the acupuncturist about three blocks away, but it didn't help. She was feeling every bit as tense as she was before she went there.

The telephone rang. Korra answered, but didn't recognize the voice.

-"Am I speaking to Avatar Korra?" the man on the other side asked.

"Yes, this is her. Who is this?"

-"My name is Valka, commander of the United Forces, 18th division. We have some business to discuss. A 'care package' has arrived for you, and I'm the one they left it with."

This sounded promising, and Korra rose up out of her seat.

"What do you mean by 'care package'?"

-"It's best we don't discuss that over the telephone. How quickly can you make it down to Pier 7?"

"15 minutes, maybe a little bit more."

-"Alright. Until then."

He hung up and Korra sighed. Pier 7 was all the way across the city, so she decided to take her glider there. She had headwind, so it took a little bit longer than she wanted, or could reasonably expect.

When she landed at the base of the pier, a man in uniform was waiting for her. He looked like he was in his mid-forties, and had a slender build. His eyes were bright blue, so Korra kind of assumed he was a waterbender, though anything would be possible.

"General Valka, I presume?"

-"Correct. Nice to finally meet you, Avatar Korra."

"Likewise. You received something on my behalf?"

-"Yes. Fire Lord Iroh warned me not to discuss anything distinct about the contents of the package over the telephone. You never know who's listening."

"Words to live by."

-"I must say, I've worked either under or with Fire Lord Iroh for most of my life, but this does not seem like him at all. He holds the president of the Republic in high regard, and so do I."

"As you should. He is your commander in chief, after all."

-"So why so clandestine? 72 men, no uniforms, and the Fire Lord asking me to secretly arrange this pier for them to stay?"

"We've discussed this very thoroughly and came to the conclusion it would be better if President Gaia didn't know about this. Did Iroh share the reason he sent these men here with you?"

-"No, he did not."

"I can only assume he didn't tell you because you can deny the whole thing and walk away without jeopardizing your career."

-"Could you tell me a little but? I am curious."

"Let's just say they are here to fight fire with fire."

-"Hmm, sounds dangerous."

"Not your style, general?"

-"I prefer to fight fire with water."

"Aha! I knew you were a waterbender. Would you say you are good?"

-"I've been a soldier my entire life. I can handle sticky situations. When you're stuck in the middle of the Si Wong Desert and Sandbender Tribes want your head and those of the rest of your unit, you learn to improvise. Little water makes a bender resourceful."

"Not bad. If you are not too busy, I'd like to invite you to City Hall Square, tomorrow evening at 8. I'll be giving a speech there. You should come and listen."

-"I'll be there."

By now, they had reached the end of the pier, and the entrance was just a few steps from them.

"General, thank you, for all of your effort."

-"Anytime. Just make it good."

With that, he turned around, and walked away. Korra liked him. A man who plays by the rules, but not afraid to bend them a little if that's what's required. She went inside, and what she saw, got her very excited. 72 men was quite a lot, when they all stood together like this. She heard Captain Mori shout: "Atten-tion!" and they all stood up, perfectly straight backs and saluted Korra. They were uniformly huge, and looked like the perfect soldiers.

"As you were, gentlemen. Captain Mori, good to see you again. I was getting worried the Fire Lord wouldn't come through."

Mori smiled. "He always comes through. We had to wait for Valka to make the necessary arrangements for us, and we had to find a way into the city without attracting any attention. It could either be quick or silent, both wasn't an option."

"Silent it is, good call. But that's water under the bridge. Is everything ready for tomorrow evening?"

-"Yes. I have divided my men up into groups of six, with two groups at City Hall, which I will be joining. The rest will disperse throughout the city at places close to the triads' headquarters. If anything goes wrong, we'll be right there."

Reassured by Mori's pragmatic approach, she went home again with a good feeling. Now she had to worry about writing her speech. Over the past week, she tried to write it, but her thoughts kept going to the very distinct absence of the Imperial Firebenders. Now though, it should be a piece of cake. "Citizens of Republic City..."

The next day, Korra decided to fly around the city for a little bit. She wanted to see if anyone was acting out of the ordinary. There was nothing. The triads kept quiet, the weather was beautiful and the people were friendly. After all, it was practically Avatar Aang they were celebrating. Even though their connection had been severed nearly thirty years ago, she felt close to him. More so then she ever did before.

As the afternoon came to an end, Korra went to City Hall. After Korra had opened the new spirit portal in the middle of the, the original building was destroyed in the battle. The new building was built on the other side of Yue Bay, and was a totally new design. It had a massive facade, a huge glass wall, three stories high, supported by four pillars, one decorated by each nation. There was a glass dome on the roof, surrounded by a publicly accessible terrace. The square was packed with spectators. There was a massive stage, with an elevated platform on which there was a pulpit, the metaphorical soapbox. On the lower stage, there was an orchestra, consisting of at least 150 men.

When Korra went inside, She stopped for a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty of the lobby. Even though it had been turned into the backstage area, Korra always thought this place had been an marvel of architecture: one, long, half-round reception desk against the back wall, the triangular pieces of cloth suspended from the ceiling, the presidential seal on the left wall, and the crest of the United Republic on the right. She soon spotted President Gaia, Lord Zuko, Commander Valka, and other officials. Good to know the right people had come to the right place.

After making pleasant small talk with the men, they went outside, to wait in front of the orchestra. In the gathered crowd, she spotted captain Mori and a handful of his men. The president made the first speech, and after he spoke, there was a musical intermezzo. Korra was up next. It had gone dark. Sozin's Comet couldn't be far away.

"It's been a while since I stood in front of a crowd. Nevertheless, I'm glad to be here. It's hard to imagine that 100 years ago, not too far from here, the Fire Nation threatened to destroy the entire world. If it hadn't been for Avatar Aang and his friends, they would have succeeded. Now though, the Fire Nation is out closest ally. We should see this day not as one to remind us how close we came to the edge, but how we since forged a strong friendship. Friendship is what stopped the Fire Nation, and is what shaped the world into what it now is. The world healed, and we healed with it. Most of the people who remember the war have passed, but behind me stands the last veteran: Lord Zuko. He is the last man still alive who actively fought in the war, and I am very grateful to be able to call him my friend. He was one of Avatar Aang's closest friends, and he has been a great guide for me as well."

Korra saw that, in the distance, the sky became brighter.

"Sozin's Comet is arriving. Let us enjoy this spectacle of nature, and let us enjoy the festival. Good night!"

The crowd applauded, as Korra left the stage. She went to Mako.

"Get ready. This is it."

Mako grabbed his radio. "All units, prepare yourselves. If anything is going to happen, it will be happening soon."

Korra grabbed her glider and flew up to the terrace. As she stood there, she suddenly spotted an unmistakable face. Or rather, what was attached. Yin. She promptly flew down and grabbed her by the arm.

"Yin, what are you doing here?! I told you to stay on Air Temple Island!"

As Korra looked around, she also saw San and Song. Both Yin and Song had their gliders with them. That's how they got off of the island. "You three are in a _world_ of trouble. Come with me. Now."

-"No." Yin said. "You're not our mother. I'm not a little girl, I'm an airbending master. I can take care of myself."

"Yin, this is serious. Something very bad is about to happen, and I want you safe." She looked for Mako, and he wasn't far away. "Mako, over here!"

Mako heard her, and soon found them.

"Call Bolin and Opal. Tell them they can stop ripping Air Temple Island apart, their children are here with me."

Mako did just that, and they'd soon be on their way, and then Korra made a good point: "We can't leave them out here in the open."

-"We'll take them backstage. City Hall is the most secure location in Republic City right now, save for maybe Air Temple Island. Bolin and Opal should be here in about ten minutes. More than enough time for us to get to the office of the president."

"What?" Korra asked, while she chuckled. "Why there?"

-"It's the easiest place to find us. It's marked everywhere and publicly accessible when not in use."

"Whatever you say, chief."

As they went inside, they ran into Commander Valka.

-"Avatar Korra, how nice to see you again. Who's this?" Valka asked, as he pointed to Yin, San and Song.

"Not mine." Korra responded brusquely. She was not in the mood for this.

Mako gave her a disapproving look, and took over. "These are the children of my brother. They are not supposed to be here, and we will be waiting for them to arrive from Air Temple Island inside."

-"Then I have some bad news for you: you cannot go in, unless you have a military escort."

Now, Mako looked completely baffled. "Sir, I'll have you know that I am the Chief of Police of Republic City, not some rookie patrol officer."

-"Be that as it may, you're not military, you're not getting in. I'll escort you."

_Great._ Korra was definitely not in the mood for this.

When they finally arrived in the president's office, they bore witness to an amazing spectacle. They saw the first light of Sozin's Comet, as the sky ran red.

Bolin and Opal soon arrived, and it was clear to Korra they didn't know how to feel. On one hand, they were very relieved their children were safe. On the other, they were furious they blatantly ignored their orders. An awkward silence fell.

Bolin eventually broke it. "Yin... Just go to the roof, all three of you, and get on Alca," he said with a disappointed sigh.

"But dad..."

"Now!"

The children started moving to the door, but before they could get there, one of the president's guards stepped in, and said: "Nobody in or out of this office. We're under attack!"

President Gaia came in, surrounded by a small army of guards and followed by Zuko.

Korra went in his direction. "Zuko, what's going on?"

-"Firebenders tried to kill the president. They already killed three of his guards. Captain Mori is guarding the building, but I don't know how much longer he can hold it."

They turned around when they heard the first guard swearing loudly. "Just get the damn thing here!" He turned his attention to presumably his first lieutenant. "The airship can't be here until at least fifteen minutes from now. Do you have any suggestions?"

The lieutenant visibly doubted. "There is a sky bison on the roof, we might be able to get away on that."

Opal immediately objected. "You can't just take my bison! I am flying my children out of here on him!"

-"Yes I can, I hereby confiscate it in the name of the United Republic. When the president is safe, the animal will revert back to you and you will be compensated for your trouble."

Opal was stunned, and Bolin blocked the door. "Trouble? These are my children you are talking about!"

-"Sir, move away from the door, or I will use force to do so."

"Captain, stop." President Gaia interrupted them. "Sir, there is nothing we gain by fighting each other. The captain has his orders, and he will follow them. We take your children with us, and you remain here until this all blows over."

Bolin looked at Opal, who had a questioning look on her face, but ultimately nodded. He stepped aside.

"Don't worry sir, they'll be safe with us. Mrs. Beifong, we'll seek refuge on Air Temple Island, the safest haven in the city right now."

"Okay. We can give them a good fight for a while."

As the president, his men and Yin, San and Yong went up, Korra and the team went down, preparing to make a stand in the lobby.


	4. Fire and Blood

They were ready. Korra and Bolin had dug a big hole and broke a water main, creating a makeshift water supply for Korra and Commander Valka. They hadn't seen Alca leave yet, which was worrisome. Behind the reception they had created a stone wall, out of sight, which might buy them a few precious extra seconds. Suddenly, Mako's radio started going haywire with messages.

"Chief, we're getting hammered out here!"

"They're everywhere!"

"We're under attack! Firebenders have us surrounded!"

Mako responded in kind: "All units, use of lethal force is permitted. We will hold this city. If your attackers end up dying in the process, so be it."

Korra was between him and captain Mori. "Captain, call them in. The police needs help. At least a dozen per building."

Mori started giving orders to his men over the radio, when Mako asked the inevitable: "Korra, who is this guy?"

"He's... the captain of the Imperial Firebenders. I got six dozen on loan from Fire Lord Iroh for precisely this contingency," she said, with a hint of guilt on her face.

-"You what?! You march half a fucking battalion into my city and don't even tell me about it?!"

"Can we not have this discussion now? Tomorrow, I'm all yours to be yelled at, but now we have bigger things on our mind!"

She hadn't even finished or a massive fireball broke down the front door. "Zuko, Mako, now!" Korra shouted, as they all shot one long fire blast back at the door. It was more powerful than any of them could have expected. Mori and his men joined in, hoping to keep them out of the building for as long as possible. The firebenders didn't budge: They broke down the walls on either side of the door, effectively creating their own cover. The glass broke into massive shards, which shattered upon hitting the floor. They shot blast after blast at Korra and her team, but between the Avatar, fourteen expert firebenders, an airbending master, a lavabender and a waterbending general, they could hold their own for the longest time.

Valka deflected blow after blow, and fortunately, the impromptu pond didn't drain. Through the skylight, they saw Alca taking off, as they probably waited for the triads to get inside, where they couldn't get a clean shot as easily. They were wrong. Korra saw how blast after blast was sent straight up, as that could be their only target.

"Opal, throw me your glider!" She did just that. With outstanding accuracy, Opal threw her glider precisely into Korra's path, as she jumped up. She knew she was vulnerable, but Mako, Zuko and Valka jumped out from behind the wall to try and buy Korra some time. She flew up, straight through the skylight, and saw precisely what she had been afraid of: Alca was under heavy attack. There were four firebenders, all propelling themselves around him, forcing the bison to keep evading their fire blasts. Yin and Song were working double time trying to keep the president and their brother safe. From what Korra could make out from a small distance, there were only two firebenders on the president's guard.

"The Avatar! Kyru, keep her busy! Korra heard one of them shout. She wasn't going to make it that easy for him. With one quick move, she folded the glider, and fell a few dozen feet. He dove after her, but she unfolded it again, as he shot past. Korra kicked an air blast after him, which he obviously hadn't anticipated. He took the full brunt of the shot, and slammed into the ground. He wasn't getting up any time soon, Korra could see that much, even from way up here. They flew past a skyscraper largely made of stone, which meant San now had all the ammo he needed. Even on a bison, which was all over the place trying to evade fireblasts, he managed to get a firm foothold and launched a barrage of bricks from the building's wall. The precise aim must have been genetic, because he had that from his father. He scored a clean headshot, causing the firebender to fall from the sky. Korra managed to catch a few bricks with her earthbending, and threw them back up to the bison's saddle.

However, in their ever so short moment of distraction, the leader of the troupe had flown around the building and fired a large blast at the bison. Alca was startled, and made half a loop, back in the direction of City Hall. Korra watched it happen, and the worst possible thing happened: Yin had fallen off the saddle. She was in free fall, and Korra dove straight after her. She managed to catch up to her and caught her on the glider, but couldn't bear the weight of both of them. It was a sloppy landing, but they were both still in on piece.

"Yin, you remember the skylight next to Alca, on top of City Hall?"

-"Yeah, what about it?"

"I broke it on my way out. Get to the roof, and look if you can get back to your parents. If not, stay there until I get back." Korra said, while she handed the airbender the glider.

-"But what about San and Song? We can't just leave them to their own devices!"

"I got something else for them." With that, Korra closed her eyes and slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand. When her eyes opened again, they had the Avatar's trademark white glow. She gave Yin a meaningful smile, and with one quick fire blast, took off in pursuit of Alca and his attackers.

One of them had flown ahead of the mighty beast, and touched down on a rooftop. He prepared to shoot a bolt of lightning, but Korra was there first. She tackled him, which clearly took him by surprise. Korra ditched him, and at the immense speed they were travelling, he slammed into a building rather violently. She let Alca catch up with her and jumped on, when the last firebender did something she wasn't expecting: he created a pair of massive fire whips, and he brought them down on top of them. Korra looked gazed upon them, and shouted at the rider: "Dive! Dive! Dive!"

Alca did just that, but another problem loomed right in front of them: City Hall. No way they could avoid it. Korra and San leaped forwards, and blew a big hole in the side of the building. They crashed right into the lobby, which by now had been turned into a warzone. There was of lava all over the place (it was even on the ceiling somehow), the pond was about half empty, but they had halted the worst of the fighting. Momentarily. The rider put Alca down in the pond, and they all jumped behind the reception. Bolin threw up another wall so that Alca was fully behind cover. Much to Korra's relief, Yin was sitting right next to him. San and Song joined them, and Korra took Gaia straight to Zuko, who was in cover next to Mako. The chief wasted no time addressing the elephant koi in the room: "Korra, what is he doing here?"

"We came under heavy fire, there is no way we can get out of here on Alca. He's too big and too slow. There's only one way we're getting out of here." Korra said, as she pointed to the firebenders. "Through them."

"She's right, Mako." Zuko turned his attention to Mori, who was busy shooting a bolt of lightning at rubble from the wall Korra broke down. "Mori! We're going to make another attempt at moving the president out of here! Can you lay down some cover?"

"Sure can. Get ready to move!"

Mori and his men formed a line, and Korra was slightly shocked to see that there were only nine left. They jumped out from their cover, and between all of their fire blasts, they could create a nearly impenetrable wall.

Korra suddenly had a bright idea: blow more air onto the flames. "Opal, join me!" She did, and with more air on the fire, the flames went from a traditional orange-red to a more frightening blue-ish white. This bought them enough time, and surrounded by a wall of fire, all of them stood in the middle, while the president's firebenders, Mako, Zuko and Korra closed off the rear. Yin and Song joined Opal in blowing air on the fire, and they moved towards the door.

Once they had reached it, Bolin and San raised cover on either side of them, and shot the new walls back at the triads. The rest of the firebenders fanned out, giving them a clear view of what had become of the square. With most of the triad's men temporarily out of commission, Korra and Valka used this moment to freeze them all in place.

With a little room to breathe, they gazed upon a sight that stunned them all. Korra was the only one to say even a single word.

"Fuck..."

All of the buildings surrounding the square were on fire.

When they turned around, City Hall itself was also on fire. The dome on top was burning, flames were bursting out of it.

Korra snapped the group back into reality when she started shouting at Mako: "Are you happy now?! I warned you this would happen!"

"Let's not say "I told you so". Mr. President, we need the United Forces and we need them now. Declare a state of emergency, and march in everything within range."

"Very well." Gaia and Valka took Mori's radio and went a short distance away, while the rest of the group set about strategizing. Mako asked the most obvious question: "Now what?"

-"We can fly out on Alca, get to Air Temple Island. Secluded, heavily guarded by military police and a few dozen airbenders." Bolin suggested, but Opal objected.

"Alca can't carry us all. Even if Zuko calls in Druk, I doubt they can carry us all."

The captain of the president's guard interrupted: "We have a window and we need to use that. We're getting out of here on the flying bison, same plan as before."

Opal still wasn't very happy about it, but she agreed, and had some advice. "Alright, but this time, gain as much altitude as fast as you can. Sky bison can fly very high, well out of reach of any firebenders."

Mako's radio started buzzing again: "We need back up at the Red Monsoon's headquarters! We're being overrun!"

"Hold on, back up is inbound. Just hold them off as long as you can." Mako turned his attention to the group again. "We're closer than any other units. We'll use the police cars underneath City Hall. Let's go."

The president, his guards and the children took off. They took four of Mori's firebenders with them as well, just in case. Korra and the group went to the parking area in the basement. Korra used her metalbending to break the fence down, and much to their relief, found a whole fleet of cars. They commandeered two vans, and set off in the direction of the Red Monsoon.

Mako and Bolin were the designated drivers, and Mako took the lead. He gunned it when they got near the headquarters of the waterbending triad, and he tried to plow a hole through the wall of criminals. He was stopped by a bolt of lightning shot at the engine with absolutely perfect aim. Bolin saw it in time, and the parked sideways, effectively creating cover. Korra and Bolin knocked the cars over, and they set to work. The Imperial Firebenders were on their right, struggling, and they had already lost several men. The police officers were backed up against the wall of the building, fighting alongside the waterbenders of the triad. Korra immediately saw they were running low on water. She kicked down the door of the building opposite, and headed straight for the roof. Propelling herself with firebending, she made it to the roof of the headquarters. There was a narrow alley, which ended on the street on the other side. Here, Korra knew there was a water main. She dug a hole, just like she had at City Hall. She sank the entire ally, which quickly filled up.

Korra joined the police, who needed her help the most.

"There's a flow of water inbound, get ready for it!" she shouted at the police officers, who were having trouble keeping hold of their positions.

-"Avatar Korra, it's damn good to see you!" one of the officers said, while deflecting another fire blast. "Most of the waterbenders fled inside when their supply ran out, I'll go get them!"

Korra shot a few blasts at the firebenders, who were having trouble with the three fronts. The waterbenders came out, just as the water flowed in. They went straight to work: employing their aggressive style of waterbending, it were the firebenders who were now starting to feel the heat. As their numbers started dwindling, they suddenly took off. They realized it had become a losing battle, and made a run for it. They flew off, back in the direction of City Hall. With the battle over, they could take a closer look at the injured. There were many. The Imperial Firebenders had lost five of eighteen men, the police even more. The Red Monsoons came out, as a few knew healing. They, Korra, and Valka set to work. Korra helped a police officer.

"How did they attack?"

-"They came out of nowhere. We were suddenly surrounded by a wall of fire. This was a well planned operation, the whole thing. They must have spent months planning this. We were getting hammered, when, just as sudden, those guys showed up," he told Korra, as he pointed to the Imperial Firebenders. "I don't know who they are, but I'm damn glad they were here. Without them, it would have been a slaughterhouse. The Red Monsoons could only help up as long as their water lasted, which wasn't very long."

Mako walked up to her. "Korra, we need to go back. I just got reports from other officers, all of the firebenders attacking them took off. They must be regrouping, because they were all reported to go back in the direction of City Hall. At the Terra Triad, they lost, they had no other choice than to abandon their post. The Imperial Firebenders went with them, but when they came back, the building had been burned to the ground and most of the earthbenders were dead."

"Well shit. This is not good. What's out next move?"

-"I don't know. Either we go after them and run the risk of walking into a trap, but we will have them cornered and together. It's all-in from here."

"If they ran from the others as well, they will all be there. It's a perfect opportunity to take them all down."

-"They were also suffering heavy losses at the Triple Threats. Alright." He grabbed his radio, and turned his frequency to all his men. "All units, commandeer every working vehicle in your vicinity. If they are regrouping, we must cut them off before they have the chance to launch another wave of attacks. They were heading on the direction of City Hall, we will cut them off there. Get there as soon as possible. Out."

"Our vans are pretty banged up. How were you planning on getting back?"

"Use ours." came from behind them. Korra turned around and saw one of the triads standing there. "We owe you big time, and we are going with you. We have a few cars parked at the lot around the corner. All of our benders want to help you get those bastards."

Korra could read the doubt of Mako's face. "You needed to defend your own property, but you are not to seek out a fight." he said.

Korra disagreed: "Mako, you just said it yourself, we could be walking straight into a trap. We need all the help we can get, and these guys are properly trained."

Mako still didn't look very happy about it, but he did come around. "Fine. But I want as many of them alive. Don't make me regret it. If they give up, you will not continue attacking, or I will prosecute you. Got it?"

-"Whatever you say, chief." The waterbender gathered the rest of the triads, about two dozen. Together, they put the injured and dead inside. The ones still capable of fighting went with Korra to the parking lot, where they found a few trucks. Even though some of the officers did recognize a few as stolen, they decided not to make a big fuss about it now. They filled the tanks in the back to the brim with water, and set off.

At City Hall, Korra's worst fear had become a reality: there was huge group of people in front of the burning building. Mako gave the order to move in, and from all directions, cars moved onto the square. Druk had also arrived, and Zuko had mounted him, keeping the firebenders from flying off again, with Korra's aid. Bolin effectively separated the firebenders by creating gully's of lava between them, and they were slowly forced back into the burning building.

Korra and Zuko went back to the ground, where they picked their own fights. Zuko was dueling three men at once, and could still maintain the upper hand in the fight. Korra had a significant advantage with all four elements, and wasted no time: she pushed them back into the building. Opal was helping Mako, who combined their skills to create blasts of fire so bright it hurt Korra's eyes. Valka used the supply the Red Monsoons had brought with them to freeze quite a few of them in place. Some managed to break out again, but most were incapable of fighting on.

They pulled back in the lobby, seeking refuge behind the very desk Korra and her group had been, only half an hour ago.

Korra tried to shout at them, which was not easy with the battle raging on. She turned to drastic measures. After a brief moment of concentration, her eyes glowed white, and she rose up from the ground in an air sphere. She gathered the other three elements around her, and spoke with the help of Raava's voice: "Firebenders of Republic City! Give up this fight! You have nowhere to go!" They stared in awe, as they came out of their cover. Korra settled down on the ground again. Now out of the Avatar State again, she turned to Mako. "All yours." she said, with a smirk on her face she just couldn't resist.

Her entire team moved in as the firebenders came out of their cover with their hands up. The waterbenders started extinguishing the burning building, and Valka, Opal, Mako and Bolin were standing around her.

Bolin was very excited: "That. Was. Amazing! Ahh, I wish I had a camera to film that. It would have been so great! Can you do that again?"

Korra smiled. "Another time. Come, we need to scan the building for stragglers."

They did just that, as they moved into the rest of the building. Korra was surprised that it looked mostly intact, until they got to the president's office at the east side of the building. The far wall was still smoldering, and when they checked the other side, it had burned out completely. The next row of offices was overlooking the lobby, and Korra couldn't help but feel saddened by what she saw when she looked out the window. The hall had scorch marks everywhere, destruction all around. Sure, the firebending triads hadn't won, but at what cost? She gazed upon the pool and artificial wall, which had saved lives more than once in the past hour.

She was pulled back into reality when she heard Valka's radio buzzing: "Commander Valka, what is the status at City Hall?" Korra recognized the voice of the captain of the president's guard.

-"We've beaten the firebenders, and are scanning the building. Do not leave Air Temple Island until I give the order. Copy?"

"Copy that. Out."

Valka turned his attention to his group again. "Come on. Let's get this over with. This place is creeping me out."

They silently nodded, as they moved to the door of the office. Korra saw a bright flash, and then, nothing.

To Mako, it all happened in slow-motion. Korra had stepped inside, when suddenly, a bolt of lightning came thundering her way. She took a direct hit to the chest. Opal, Valka, Bolin and Mako didn't even have time to think over what they did. They saw the firebender who shot Korra, standing behind a desk. Simultaneously, they shot at him. Mako heard the wall break, but didn't pay any attention to him anymore. Only one thought was circling through his mind.

_Korra._

He looked at her, and it was shocking. The bolt had struck her precisely in the heart. The scorched clothes revealed a wound the size of his hand. He vaguely heard someone shout for a healer, but it didn't matter anymore. She was gone. All he could do was hold her amongst the rubble.

And for the first time since he could remember, he felt tears running down his cheek.

* * *

><p><em>First author's notes here: I'm going to continue this story, but my main project right now is something of a completely different order. With the actual end of The Legend of Korra in mind, this story needed some minor rewriting, which I am currently going through as a kind of side thing. Like I said, the majority of my time I spend on writing Team Player.<em>


	5. A Tomb of Ice

The feeling was... Indescribable. Mako just couldn't get used to it. It had been a week since the battle for Republic City, and he couldn't shake the image of that lightning bolt hitting Korra. The open wound on her chest. The smell of the seared flesh among the burnt office supplies.

Even though he had gone to work every morning, he hadn't done anything. He took calls all day, but none of them stuck, they were continuously overruled by that same thought going through his head.

_Korra._

_Mako barely remembered what happened after Opal, Bolin and Valka took him away. He started coming back around the next morning, when he woke up in a bed on Air Temple Island. He had gone to the kitchen, where he found everyone. There were dozens of tissues lying all around the room, and most eyes were bright red. Opal hugged him as soon as he walked in. It was what he needed. What they both needed._

_He took it upon himself to call Senna. Mako could hear from the other side of the phone that she was in shambles. He wanted to crawl through the telephone to comfort her, but he couldn't. Hearing the elderly woman cry was heartbreaking. He got a call from the office, the rookie officer asked whether he was coming into the office today. Out of nowhere, he suddenly felt a burst of anger coming up, and he scolded the rookie: "None of your fucking business! I'm where I need to be and you should just leave me alone!" With that, he smacked the phone on the hook, smashed the table on which it was standing to the side and broke down once again._

_He sat down, leaning against the wall. Bolin was standing in the doorway, startled by his outburst. He sat down next to his brother and put an arm over his shoulder. "Mako... We're all feeling the same here. Korra was..."_

_"We are not feeling the same. She warned me. She told me this would happen. She..." He didn't finish. "How did I react? By yelling at her for doing what I should have done. It's all my fault."_

_"Mako, you shouldn't be blaming yourself. There is only one to blame here and he's dead."_

_Mako knew his brother was right, but he was blaming himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that if he had actually done what she told him to, she would still be alive. The brothers just sat there side by side, staring at the wall._

_"Mako..."_

_He suddenly felt another burst of anger coming. He tried to suppress it, but it still got the better of him. "You know what? Just fuck off already! Let me mind my own business, you mind yours!" And with that, he stormed off and went to the station._

Mako wanted to find the new Avatar. An earthbender. It was going to be a daunting task. He could be either in the Earth Kingdom or in the United Republic. He started in the most obvious place: the hospitals. He ordered three of his borough lieutenants to go to the hospitals in their respective borough, cross-reference the babies born to earthbenders against his own rough estimate of the time of Korra's death.

One of them objected. "Sir? Is that really a priority right now? We're still trying to clean up te mess left by the triads."

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

-"No sir, we are worried about your well-being."

Mako was surprised at this. Lieutenant Ji, who was the one to speak, was normally more reserved and professional. He kept his business and private life strictly separate, and while most people in the department thought he came off as cold, Mako always liked his stoic efficiency. It mirrored his own.

He gestured the other two to leave, and they did. "Lieutenant, who are "we"?"

-"Do I have permission to speak freely?"

"Of course you do, otherwise you'd be on your way to Republic City General."

-"Have you looked in the mirror recently? You look terrible. I'd wager you haven't caught more then two hours of sleep a night, even though it's probably closer a form of unconsciousness brought on by sheer fatigue. You don't eat. You barely get out of your office, but the amount of work you do is minimal."

"What are you suggesting?"

-"Maybe you should take some time off. It's no secret you were close friends with Avatar Korra, and her... This whole situation is obviously getting the best of you."

"Thank you, lieutenant."

-"May I ask... Does this whole "find the new Avatar" have anything to do with that meeting she interrupted, about two weeks back?"

"No. This matters to the world. You go now, the others already have a head start."

-"Yes sir." Mako noticed the hint of doubt in Ji's voice and the look in his eyes, essentially saying "We both know you're lying." It was true. Mako was lying to himself. He was doing this out of some misplaced sense of self-redemption. He felt guilty and now he was trying to fix that by doing something entirely pointless.

_The funeral was held in the tradition of the Southern Water Tribe, two days after Korra's death. A Southern Water Tribe funeral was simple but elegant, embracing the waterbenders' connection with nature. It's a never ending circle. The body of the deceased was placed on a shelf of ice, while waterbenders created a tomb around it. The iceberg would be set out to sea, sailing into the unknown. Of course, "the unknown" wouldn't be very far in the summer heat of the United Republic._

_First, there had been a memorial service in the park, again, very fitting. All high people had been there, most had even given speeches. President Gaia. Lord Zuko. Fire Lord Iroh. General Valka. Her cousins, Desna and Eska. The King of Omashu. The entirety of The Metal Clan. Every airbender who received their abilities after Harmonic Convergence. Mako couldn't bring himself to appear publicly just yet. Even Captain Mori traveled back to pay his respects._

_The ceremony itself took place at Aang Memorial Island, which seemed rather fitting. Only people close to her had been allowed on the island, on special request from Senna. There would only be pre-setup cameras, Mako and Gaia had personally forbidden any journalists from entering the island on that day._

_The whole fleet of the Tribe had sailed out, and formed two rows, springing from Aang Memorial Island. All water-borne traffic had been banned from both Yue Bay and the Mo Ce Sea. Pretty much every available airship had been rented out for people who wanted to pay their last respects, even though they weren't allowed to follow the iceberg onto open water._

_The funeral itself was wrenching. Mako led the ceremony, holding a short speech. He recalled her greatest actions, but mostly what he remembered and wanted to remember. When he was done, Senna herself gave the tomb of ice the last nudge, sending it out between the rows of battleships. The soldiers on them gently pushed it out onto open water, while the music played. Everybody just stood there, on the dock, contemplating in silence. It was that very silence that was absolutely deafening._

"Sir? They're ready for you in interrogation."

Mako's secretary rudely awoke him from his daydreaming. "Thank you, I'll be right there." He had been wanting to do this for a while. They had identified the commanders in the field, while the big guys stayed clear from the action, trying to keep their own hands clean. Mako would have to be very convincing in order to get these guys to talk.

The first two bore no fruit. They refused to say anything, so Mako was done quickly. The third guy, Mako could instantly tell, was very nervous, clearly not a seasoned veteran.

"Quite the mess you guys made out there."

-"Forget it! I won't talk!"

_Bingo._ "I haven't asked you anything yet. You can't deny you have stirred up quite a bit of trouble."

-"You got nothing one me!"

"We have you, a known member of a firebending triad, at the scene of a few dozen firebenders setting City Hall on fire, killing the Avatar, twenty-three police officers, sixty-eight other triad members, fifteen Imperial Firebenders, thirty-two civilians, plus attempts at the life of the President, me, Lord Zuko and other prominent members of the Republic. You're staring down life in prison. In fact, you're lucky we weren't having this conversation ten years ago, they would have given you the noose for this."

The effect was precisely as Mako was expecting: he was growing more nervous by the second. There were beads of sweat forming at the top of his head, he was shaking, and even while he was handcuffed to the table, he couldn't keep his hands still.

"There is, however, a bright side to this." Mako continued, "You will spend the rest of your life in a box, but whether or not I throw away the key is up to you. I'm offering you the possibility of parole, if you tell me everything you know. Oh, and you might want to decide quick. I got four more men waiting for me down the hall. I'm going to make them the same offer, and it only extends once. Your call."

It wasn't a total lie, he did have four others waiting down the hall to interrogate. But he would preferably see all of them talking, so they can build the strongest possible case. But this guy didn't know that, and even if he did, he'd probably forgotten about it by now. Mako started walking towards the door, when he was stopped by the criminal's voice.

-"Wait! I'll talk, I'll talk. It was the Infernos. They came up with the plan to bring down the other triads."

Mako took his seat again, as the man had visibly calmed down. "Go on."

-"They came up with a plan for an armistice during the comet. We were quietly planning to take them down, but they suggested we'd bundle our efforts to take down the other three triads."

"Why did you go along with this?"

-"Well, if we'd be fighting each other, we wouldn't get anywhere. We'd be equally matched and we wouldn't get anywhere. If we went along with their plan, it would be good for the both of us. We'd split up their turf fifty-fifty. It seemed like a good deal."

"So why attack City Hall?"

-"We figured that we'd tie up the police over there, based on the assumption the president and other figures of importance would be more important to protect than a bunch of triads. We never expected the kind of resistance we got. Far more police than we could have ever imagined, and those firebenders. I don't know who they were, but they were good. Far too good to be civvies, and fighting the Avatar was definitely not a part of the plan."

"So you had her killed after you already lost?"

-"I don't know who did that or why. The Avatar was never part of our plan. I don't think the guy who did that even realized who he was shooting."

Mako's eyes grew large and his breathing deepened. "So her death... was all for _nothing_?"

He didn't say anything. He just nodded, ever so slow. Mako walked out. The interrogation room was suddenly far too small. So was the hallway. So was the lobby. He needed to get out of there, and right now. He jumped on his motorcycle, and just drove. He had probably broken about a dozen laws by the time he stopped the catch his breath again. He didn't know where he was and really, he didn't care. He let himself sink onto the ground, resting his head against his motorcycle.

_"Mako, when are going to stop blaming yourself for this?" Bolin came to him after the funeral. It had been two days since they last talked on Air Temple Island. They sat down at the same wall they had been a few days ago. "You're not thinking clear anymore."_

_"Maybe that isn't the real problem. Out of the five people there, I could have done something. I've known how to do it practically my whole life!" He doubted when he said that._

_"That's not it. You did what you thought was best, and she disagreed with you. Didn't you two always?" Bolin paused for a moment. "You don't just need to stop blaming yourself, you need to forgive yourself. Out of all the people here, you are the only one blaming you for what happened."_

_"You're probably right, but I don't know if I can. I-I don't know if I know how. But first, I need to apologize to you for the other day. You didn't deserve that."_

_"But you needed it, and that makes it worthwhile for me."_

_Mako smiled. He knew he could always count on his brother for these kinds of things. For as long as he could remember, Bolin had always been there to make him feel better, no matter how bad the world around them seemed to get._

_"Come on." Bolin stood up and reached out to his brother to pull him back on his feet. "You'll figure something out."_

Mako came to his senses again. He realized he'd driven all the way up to the mountains, and that he had a gorgeous view over the city. He knew what he had to do. He had to amend for his mistakes. Finding the new Avatar _was_ crucial. This time, he would get it right.

* * *

><p><em>A contiuation of this story will come. I wanted to move some pieces into position, and it took more time then I had previously imagined.<em>


	6. The Boy from the Street

-"See any juicy targets?"

"Red coat, hat and cane. Bet he's got a fat wallet."

-"Most definitely. You can choose this time around. It is your birthday, after all."

"Thanks Yang, I appreciate that." He hesitated for a moment. "I'll take the wallet, you handle the distraction. Let's go with the old "Newspaper trip". Haven't used that one in a while."

-"No, we have not. Alright Sai, you get in position, I'll get a newspaper in that alley."

Sai casually walked down the street, something he'd done a thousand times before. He bumped into the man in the red coat, and took the wallet from his inner pocket.

"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention."

-"Never mind, kid."

He hadn't walked five steps before he heard the man yell after him. "Thief! Stop him!" He started running towards him, but Sai was quick. Fortunately, Yang was precisely where she needed to be, and blew a newspaper into bits, distracting the man. Sai shot a tiny fissure down the street, just high enough to make him trip and fall flat on his face, while they both ran into the alley. The earth- and airbender gave each other a meaningful look, and Yang blasted them both up onto the roof of the building. They looked down, and much to their amusement, saw the man in the red coat furiously looking around for them.

Now though, Yang started to get curious about what they reeled in. "That was a good one. Alright, let's see what we got."

Sai opened the wallet, and it turned out his prediction was accurate. "300 yuans plus change. Not bad at all." He took the money and put it in his pocket. "So, want to give this thing back?"

-"Are you kidding me? Want to risk it all again?"

"No, I just... I always feel kind of bad about keeping stuff like drivers licenses and library cards. It's nothing worth to us and..." Yang didn't let him finish, but she did let out a big sigh while rolling her eyes.

-"Fine! Give me that thing." She snatched the wallet from his hand and walked up to the edge of the building. She spotted the guy walking down the street again, and whistled unbelievably loud on her fingers. She threw the wallet back, and much to her surprise, he actually caught it.

-"This is precious though. You won't hesitate to take 300 bucks, but you feel bad about keeping his wallet?"

"Hey, if he's walking around with this kind of cash, chances are we need it more than he does."

-"You know, this do-gooder behavior is going to get us in big trouble some day."

"Maybe, but for now, let's finally get around to celebrating my birthday. I'm buying."

They walked over the rooftops to the other side of the block. Using the fire escape, they went back down to street level, where, a few blocks away, they found a newspaper stand. Sai bought a box of cigarettes, giving one to Yang and also lighting one up himself. The nicotine felt great after so long. Suddenly, something occurred to Sai. "Why don't we hit up this neighborhood more often? It's fucking target practice out here."

-"You know damn well why. Just because the police was understaffed after the festival, doesn't mean it's that way all the time."

"Why do you have to be such a killjoy? That time of the month again?"

She shot him an evil look while letting a sarcastic laugh. "Let's just find a place to stay for the night. Any ideas?"

"Sixth Street Bridge? It's not too far from here."

-"Sure."

The bridge was still free. Sai knew it was a decent place to sleep, as there was a packaging plant around the block. They usually had scraps of foam, which could be made into a pretty soft bed if you laid out some cardboard over it. Yang wet off to make the bed, while Sai strategically placed the money they stole under a slab of stone. "I hope you've had a good birthday."

"Meh, could have been worse. Wish dinner could have been a little better."

-"Has it ever been?"

"Not for the past seven years."

-"It's been seven years for you already?" Yang looked surprised it had already been that long since he ended up on the street.

"Well, yeah. Just before my eight birthday. But all that's in the past. Let's just get a good night sleep while we still have the bridge."

-"Let's. 'Night." With that, Yang rolled over, and almost fell asleep instantly.

Sai couldn't sleep. He thought about how lucky he was to have teamed up with the airbender. She saved his skin more times than he could remember, and her cautious nature combined with his impulsive one meant they made a good team. He took another cigarette out of the box and lit it. It wasn't like he hadn't been there for her either. It was simply a lot easier to get by together. Most thought they were in a relationship, but they both knew to carefully avoid that. He finally lay down, and tried to catch a good night sleep.

The next morning Sai and Yang headed to their usual hangout: Avatar Korra Park. Too much police to even think about pickpocketing, but there was always something to do and it was a nice place to be. They wouldn't make it there.

As they got close to the park, a familiar voice stopped them.

-"Well, well, well. If it ain't the lovebirds."

"Fuck off _Suzy_. Can we not do this so early in the morning?" Sai sharply responded, knowing full well he hated that nickname. "Suzy" was actually Suzanko, a firebender. Sai and Yang never got along with him, mostly because, well, he was a bully. Three years older than the two of them, he used to be able to outmatch them. Now though, he wouldn't approach them anymore without at least two of his friends, which he brought with him.

-"You know, you two must have been stupid to mug a Triple Threat." Sai and Yang gave each other a worried look. "Oh what, you really think you wouldn't stand out? Give us the money, and we won't have to hurt you."

"I should have known you would join the Triple Threats. Only a specific kind of loser signs up for them."

Suzy got visibly angry. "You need to choose your next words very carefully. You're playing with fire," he said, while making a flame in his hand, while his friends formed a circle around the duo. "Where is the money?"

-"Screw you!" Yang blasted his friends out of the way with one quick jab, and Suzy shot back. Sai rolled onto the street, after the guy who was a waterbender. He had to dodge a spike of ice shot his way and struck back hard, with a brick straight to the guy's chest. Yang was fighting Suzy, and Sai prepared to take on the earthbender, when they heard the whistle of a policeman.

-"Shit! Cops, let's scram!" Suzy and his friends quickly made off, running down an alley. Sai and Yang tried to run the opposite direction where the whistle came from, but found themselves blocked by a row of metalbenders. After they had turned around, they saw that path had also been blocked in the same manner. One of them shot his cables, restraining Yang at the wrists and ankles.

-"Hey, what are you doing?!" She tried to blast him away, but the officer had a firm stance and didn't budge. Sai came to her aid. "Let her go!" He shot a rock at the officer, but his colleague came to his aid, breaking the rock. Suddenly, an authoritative voice broke them up.

-"Stop! All of you."

Sai quickly turned around to see and old man standing in front of the metalbenders. Judging by his uniform, he had a high rank, but he wasn't a metalbender. Sai put shackles around his ankles, kept the tension on them while he lifted a rock with his other hand. "Let her go, or I'll break your legs!"

The old man stayed surprisingly calm under this. "Easy now, no one has to get hurt here. I'm here to talk to you. I've got some pretty big news for you."

"Oh really?" He couldn't repress the sarcastic undertone.

-"Yes, really. So, if you could drop the rock and release my legs, I'll release your friend, we go into the teashop on the corner, I'll buy you some breakfast, you listen to what I have to say, and we part ways as unlikely friends. That, or you break my legs, I'll throw you both in jail for assaulting an officer in function, and I force you to listen to what I have to say."

Sai didn't know whether or not he could trust this man. He looked over to Yang, who gave him a panicking nod, and turned to the old man again. "Let her go, then I'll let you go."

The man nodded to his officer, who let Yang go. She ran straight back to Sai, who dropped the rock and crumbled the shackles he made around the man's ankles. He remained calm, as he gestured to the teashop. "Shall we?"

Yang was still very shook up about the whole thing. "What do we do?" She asked, with quite a bit of panic in her voice.

"I don't know. Best we follow his lead, I don't think we have much of a choice. We can't fight all of these guys and I don't think he's messing around."

They followed him, and he had already taken a table. Sai and Yang sat down across him, still very distrustful towards him. He pulled a box of cigarettes from his chest pocket, and held them out to the bending duo.

-"What are you doing?" Yang asked him suspiciously.

-"Rumor has it you are the only airbender in the world who smokes. Don't worry, they are perfectly normal cigarettes. Come on, it'll get the tension out of the air." They both took one from the box, and he flicked open his thumb, creating a small flame as if it were a lighter.

"Alright, you are a firebender, and you hold some sort of high rank in the police," Sai said, now more curious than distrustful. "but who are you really, and what is this all about?"

The old man smiled, and lit up a cigarette himself. "Very astute of you. I am Mako, Chief of Police. I've had my eye on you for a while now, but you are surprisingly difficult to track. We found you again after an officer reported seeing you two yesterday, after you pickpocketed a triad. It's not very common for an earth and an airbender to work together, so he followed you, and my metalbenders cornered you when you stayed in the same place long enough."

"Alright, but why? You wouldn't use a dozen elite officers to arrest us two, show up yourself, and you certainly wouldn't buy us breakfast or give us cigarettes."

-"Well, I went through all this trouble to make sure I had your full attention. You see, Sai, you are the next Avatar."


	7. The Second Avatar of the New Age

"What?" Both Sai and Yang were stunned. Yang's mouth had literally fallen open, while Sai could only stare at Chief Mako while trying to get his thoughts back together, but he miserably failed at that. He was finally snapped back into reality when the cigarette he was still holding reached his finger, and burned him.

"I'm the Avatar? How... How is that possible, and how do you know?"

-"Well, the Avatar could be anyone born at the right time, which you were. You were born when Avatar Korra died. I've spent years afterwards trying to find you. I knew you would be born to an earthbender, but my search yielded no result. That was, until a friend gave me the idea to ask spirits. They are able to sense the presence of Raava, the spirit of light."

"I'm sorry, I'm still a _little_ blown away by this. I'm the master of all four elements?"

-"Not yet, but yes. You have to master all four bending arts, and you can bring balance to the world."

"The world seems pretty balanced from where I'm sitting."

-"No it isn't. You're both too young to know this, but the Republic is breaking under its own weight. The boroughs are segregating. Ever since the Battle for City Hall, people have started to become distrustful of the other elements. Fire, of course, bears the brunt of it, with firebenders having been the instigators of that fight. But it had another effect; tensions with the Earth Federation are on the rise again. Many people there, especially the upper classes, consider the United Republic to be stolen from the Federation after the Hundred Year War. They see this as an opportunity."

"And you expect me to stop that single-handed? I don't know if you've noticed pal, but I'm not exactly what you'd call "the man for the job." I barely know how to write my own name, I don't know anything about politics and ancient grudges between nations!"

-"Anything can be learned if you want to."

"But... where would I start? I dropped out of school years ago, and I never bent anything other than earth."

Mako smiled. "That's perfectly alright. Most Avatars aren't made aware of their true identity until they are sixteen. Most of the time, they only have a connection with their native element, in your case, earth."

"You must have lost count somewhere, because I'm fifteen, not sixteen."

-"I know. But we need you, Sai. This gives you a head start, and you'll need it. Like I said, tensions have been rising for fifteen years, and there will be a breaking point. I'd prefer to avoid that if possible."

"Okay, but still, how would I learn the other three elements? Earth took me nearly ten years, and you make it sound like I don't have ten years."

-"Well, the cycle is earth, fire, air and water. So you should start learning firebending, once you've mastered earthbending."

"And how am I supposed to do that? Like I said, I've never produced so much as a spark in my life, while I've been chucking rocks since before I could see over the table. And I can't afford, like, to go to a dojo of sorts to learn it."

-"I got something for that. My cousin lives in the Fire Nation, on Ember Island. He has a dojo, and he owes me. I could make arrangements for you to go there and master firebending, once you've wrapped up everything you need to here in Republic City."

"Well, great, that means we can leave in five minutes, I don't have anything to wrap up. Unless you do, Yang."

She snapped out of it again. "What? Uh... No, I don't either."

"Good, then we can leave right now."

-"Hold on, cowboy, not so fast. I need to make certain arrangements. Since I don't want to lose you again, I need you to stay with my brother on Air Temple Island."

Yang unexpectedly interrupted: "No way. I've have sworn never to set foot on that island."

Mako chuckled. "Look young lady, it's going to take some time for me to inform the right people and get the right equipment to get you two there, and this isn't even about you. It's about him." He said, as he nodded to Sai.

"I'm sorry, but no. If she's not going with me, we're not going anywhere. We've stuck together for five years now, and I'm not about to abandon her because you tell me to."

The Chief looked at Sai, and saw the determination with which he said that. He looked over to Yang again, and she slowly nodded. "Okay. You can stay at the police station, but it means sleeping in a cell. I can leave the door unlocked if you want to."

Sai looked over to airbender again. "I'd rather do that than go to Air Temple Island."

"I guess that's settled than."

-"Now, you finish your breakfast, I have a lot of phone calls to make. I'm going to leave two patrol officers here to make sure we don't lose you again."

"Fair enough."

-"Take care." Before he walked out, Mako turned around one more time. "Oh and kid... Happy birthday."

With that, he took off, leaving the bewildered bending duo. Tea and food arrived soon, but neither of them were hungry.

-"Sai, you're the Avatar! That is awesome!"

"I don't know. I mean, how am I supposed to stop two nations from going to war with each other? Doesn't exactly sound like a one-man job to me."

-"It's not. But you're not alone. I'm with you 'til the end, alright?"

"Thanks Yang. Are you going to learn airbending with me? You could become a master, get some tattoos."

She smiled. "Maybe. I guess we'll have to find out. By the way, thanks for sticking up for me about Air Temple Island."

"Don't mention it. I know what it means to you. Like I said, we have stuck together for five years and I'm not about to stop now."

They sat there for a while, gradually gaining their hunger again, eating the food Mako bought them. Yang asked the obvious question that had been hanging around them.

-"So now what?"

"I guess we have to go to the police station. If this Mako guy says he can get us to the Fire Nation, I guess we can check it out."

-"Am I the only one with a sinking feeling about this? Feels like walking into the rat viper pit to me."

"He bought us breakfast. I don't think he wants to arrest us or anything."

-"I know, but still... What are we going to end up in? The next ten years in school, training?"

"That's a chance we have to take, if you ask me. Look Yang, I know you don't care much for authority and neither do I, but some things just have to be done.

-"Maybe."

The doubt in her voice was unmistakable, and Sai couldn't blame her. She had more reason than most to hate authority, and now she had to rely on some guy, who was sitting at the top of the authoritative food chain. He had to admit, he had his doubts as well. He'd never done very well when he was still in school, at the orphanage, his own lack of authority was noticed, and now he was pretty much told the world is counting on him before it has another go at self-destruction.

"Well, no matter what, I have to start somewhere, and this Chief guy does have a point: if I can have a head start, it's best I take it."

-"Hmmm..."

"Come on Yang, have I ever given you any reason to doubt my judgment?"

-"Plenty, actually."

"Good point, but I've got a good feeling about this. Let's just go to the police station and see what this guy can do for us."

-"Okay."

They went to the station, where they were led to Mako's office. He was on the telephone when they came in.

-"Okay, I have to go. Get those keys to my desk as soon as possible. Bye." He hung up and turned to the teenagers. Sai was curious.

"Your cousin in the Fire Nation?"

-"No, this was for your transport there. You're probably going to like it. I've already talked to him, he agreed, on one condition: you either do it his way or not at all."

"What does that mean?"

-"Means that you have to take it seriously. I pulled your files from the orphanage, they said you were quite a handful."

"I bet they did." Sai's voice was sharpening, and he leant on Mako's desk with his fists. "They made that entire file up. We didn't leave the orphanage, we were kicked out. They kept the ones who they thought couldn't take care of themselves, but you know what, they were a poor judge of character. I don't give a shit about what that file says."

He was pulled back by Yang. "Sai, calm down." She did manage to calm his temper somewhat, but he still remained on edge. "So when can we leave?"

-"By all indications, tomorrow." His tone suggested he was clearly not used to being scolded by teenagers. He did not take it very kindly. "I pulled quite a few string to drop a lot of charges for you two. If it were up to others, your friend here would spend the next ten years behind bars, so you might want to be a little more grateful. Now get out of my office, and be back by sundown, or else you have to arrange your own training." He picked up the phone again, dialed a number and turned his chair around.

Sai and Yang went outside again. This time they actually did make it to the park, and spent their last day there. It was weird, walking around with the knowledge that when they would return, the world would know who he was. Sai bought them both an ice cream, and they sat down near the statue of Avatar Korra. Perfectly content with where they were, in a warm afternoon sun, they gazed upon said statue.

-"Isn't it weird to think that you were her in a previous life?"

Sai didn't answer. He just minded the task at hand, which, for the moment, was eating his ice cream before it melted. He didn't want to think about what he had to do just now, he just wanted to enjoy his last day in Republic City. Probably his last day in anonymity as well.

He lost his train of thoughts when Yang gave him a nudge with her shoulder. "Hey, stop being so down. It's probably going to be fun. It used to be you and me against the city, now we get to take on the world!"

"You sure came around. This morning, you seemed very unsure whether or not to do this, and now you're optimism itself."

-"I thought about what you said. You were right, it has to be done, so we might as well make the best of it. No more stealing, and if you spin it right, you'll be the hero of the entire world!"

"Well, it does sound attractive when you put it like that. You have a good point. We're in this together, and we're going to make the best of it."


	8. The Journey of a Thousand Miles

Sai smiled. Yang was still peacefully asleep, when he looked into her cell. He went to the office of the chief, which raised some eyebrows. Imagine that, a fifteen year-old, who looked like he belonged in a locked cell, walking around like he owned the place. Nobody stopped him, though, as it was too early and most shifts hadn't started yet. Mako's had. He was sitting in his office, and he didn't look too pleased to see him again.

"Chief, I owe you an apology for yesterday. I am grateful for what you did, but I can still get really worked up when I think back about what that orphanage did to me. And Yang, for that matter."

-"It's alright kid. I was indeed under the assumption you left, since that is what the file says. Maybe I should take a look into that."

"Maybe you should."

-"Why didn't you step forward with it? This could have made headlines."

Sai chuckled. "Who would believe me? The word of a teenager against an official report of an institution."

"Good point. Anyway..." He didn't get to finish, as someone knocked on the door. A patrol officer walked in. "Chief, I have that thing you requested." He said, as he threw an envelope on the desk. "Fully gassed up and ready to go."

"Thank you sergeant." As he walked off, Sai got curious. "What's in the envelope?"

Mako smiled. "Go get your friend and meet me at the front desk. You might want to take a shower before you go, there is an employee bathroom that nobody ever uses on the third floor. Just follow the signs, you can't miss it."

"I just might. Half an hour, sound good to you?"

-"Sure kid."

He ran off to get Yang, who had woken up again. After a quick shower (which turned out to be quite necessary for both of them) they met up with Mako, just as they agreed. He took them to a police car, and drove away. Yang asked the question on both their minds: "Where are you taking us?"

-"The marina. You'll be travelling to the Fire Nation by boat."

"By boat? This is sounding promising."

They soon arrived at the dock, where Mako handed Sai the envelope he received earlier. "These are the keys to a boat docked here. It has been impounded a few weeks ago. It should be able to get to you to the Ember Island before sundown. Consider this the city's contribution to you mission."

"Wait, are you just going to leave the two of us? We've never been outside of the city!" Yang protested.

Well, you've been surviving on the street without any resources for five years, it shouldn't be a problem. On board, there are charts, and the envelope also contains a detailed description of the best route to take. Just keep the red buoys on your right and the green ones on your left, and you can't miss it. Good luck." With that, he got into his car and left.

"Wow, another example of great parenting." Yang couldn't suppress the bitter undertone in her voice, and Sai didn't blame her. He opened the envelope with directions to where the boat was docked, and what they found surprised them both. Neither of them knew what to expect, but this completely blew their mind. Docked near the edge of the marina was a long speedboat, red with black stripes. It was docked in the space that had the number written on the paper, and it did look like the sort of boat a criminal might find useful for smuggling stuff.

They gave each other a bewildered look, and climbed on board. Sai climbed into the driver's seat, and what do you know, the key fit perfectly. He started the engine, and it purred like a kitten. Well, the kind of kitten that weighs three hundred pounds.

"You want to untie us?"

-"Sai, do you have even the slightest idea what you are doing?"

"Yeah, the throttle is right here, push to go forward, pull back to go backwards. Easy."

Yang let out a tiresome _ugh_, but she did untie the boat, and Sai gently gave it a bit of revvage, and the boat shot forward immediately, so he pulled back on the lever again. "Okay, I admit, it might be a little more sensitive than I thought. Let's check for some awes in the front." He turned the engine off, while he and Yang started peddling out of the harbor. This also gave Sai the time to study the map and the directions they received. When they finally made it to the edge of the marina and onto Yue Bay, Sai had figured out how the map worked, and he started the engine again. This time, there was enough room for the monster to give its power a wide berth, and they needed it. When they were clear of Aang Memorial island, which was the furthest out to sea, they could open up the throttle fully, as the sea was calm.

"Better hold on to the map well!" Sai shouted to yang, as their speed quickly increased. The Mo Ce Sea was indeed littered with buoys, and like Mako said, by keeping the red ones on the right, they made it to Ember Island before noon.

Close to the island, the paper instructed them to radio in their position, so Sai slowed down, giving Yang the chance to be able to talk over the engine without having to shout her lungs out.

"Island control, this is Red Smuggler, requesting permission to dock at the port."

A crackling voice over the radio sounded more bored than anything. "Red Smuggler, we have you on schedule. Would you like assistance with docking?"

This surprised them both, Sai most of all. "Boy, that chief really has the right contacts."

Yang turned her attention to the radio again. "Island control, we would like that assistance."

"Copy that, just hold your current position."

Shortly after, a small boat appeared with two men in it. One of them boarded the Smuggler, the other went straight back to shore. "You have quite some guts announcing your purposes like that over the radio to the harbor police. Makes my job a lot easier."

Yang looked worried, but Sai knew better than that. "Look, buddy, we know you're not police. Just get us to where we can park this thing and we can move on."

-"I got a call about you two this morning. Two teenagers in a red speedboat. You don't have to dock here, you can dock straight at the Serizawa's house."

"Who's that? I don't know anything about a Serizawa."

-"You what? He's one of the world greatest firebending masters. You're very lucky to have been chosen by him, but you don't even know his name?"

"Look, I don't know anything about who's who. I was told to go here to learn firebending. Can you take us there, yes or no?"

-"Of course I can, that's why I'm here. Move over." He took the driver's seat from Sai.

"Be careful with that throttle, she's kind of twitchy."

Of course he didn't listen, and took off like a cat owl with its tail on fire. Nevertheless, he did get the hang of it, and it he docked he massive vessel perfectly at the bottom of a cliff, where a large T-shaped jetty had been built. Before disembarking, he gave the man a small tip. "Sorry, we don't have anything other than yuans."

"Nah, that's alright kid. Thanks anyway!" He left the dock, and set on a walk over the beach back to the other side of the island. While Yang and Sai fastened the boat and pulled a sail over the top to cover it and protect the open cabin from the rain, three people came walking down the stairs at the far end of the jetty. It looked like a man in his late forties, his hair tied in a top know held by a golden Fire Nation emblem. Even tied up like that thick stripes of gray were already pulling through. Even though he was wearing a formal looking robe, Sai could tell he had quite a firm build. The other two, and a boy and a girl about their age, Sai guessed to be his children. The boy looked just like his father. Upon closer inspection, Sai estimated him older than he was. He was wearing a more practical attire, consisting of a simple red short robe and pants. The girl had, unlike her father and her brother, long, pitch black hair and was dressed in a mostly black outfit. She had a twinkle in her eyes and a natural smile on her face that made her look the friendliest of them all.

All three of them bowed respectfully, and the man started. "Avatar Sai, nice to meet you. I am Suke Serizawa, your firebending master."

"Nice to meet you, master Serizawa." Sai saw how the girl was frantically gesturing to him, but he couldn't quite make out what she was trying to tell him. Thumb to hand... something? Yang did finally get the hint, and after the gave Sai a nudge, she did just that, as she bowed to the master. He followed her example, and Serizawa nodded appreciative. "I see your manners still need some working on, but I suppose that can wait. My children will show you to your rooms. There will be refreshments in the dining hall. I expect you and your friend in the dojo in two hours." He turned around and walked back to where he came from, but Yang stopped him. "Wait, why me? I'm not a firebender, I'm an airbender."

This seemed to surprise him. "Really? Hmm, Mako must have said that wrong. That's unfortunate. Anyway, Avatar Sai, the program is unchanged for you. Two hours."

As they watched him leave, Yang and Sai looked at each other, both with a raised eyebrow. "Well, he's a _real_ people-person, isn't he?" Sai said, cynicism dripping from his voice.

-"He might not be great with people, but he's the best firebender you'll ever see." The son stepped forward, and introduced herself. "I'm Sozu, and this is my sister, Jinzuri."

"Call me Juji, everyone does."

-"Everyone except father."

"Yeah, what is that guy's deal anyway? We just spent four hours on the open sea, I'd like a bit of sleep before I get busy shooting fire." Sai said, still not too pleased with the siblings' answer.

"You'll just have to forgive him that. He is a staunch traditionalist."

"Word to the wise princess, use small words, neither Sai or I went to school past the point where you wrote our age in double digits." Yang said, with a sharp bite that told Sai she wasn't too happy with their new best friends. "So what is he?"

"He holds on to the traditions his parents taught him. Old Fire Nation nobility, it's our lineage."

-"Uh-huh, I'm sure it is."

"Anyway..." Sozu said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. "Shall we show you to your rooms? Do you need help carrying your luggage?"

"We don't have any luggage."

"Oh. Well. Uh, follow me than." He proceeded them up the steps leading up to the massive cliffside villa. They passed through richly decorated gates into a garden that appeared bigger to the bending duo than Avatar Korra Park. Sai was deeply impressed. "Wow, this is something else."

Juji giggled. "I know right? It has been in our family since before the Hundred Year War. Father had quite a bit of work done, trying to modernize it."

Yang let out a sarcastic snort. "Of course he did. Didn't you say something about living in the past?"

Sai shot her a pedantic look, but Sozu ignored her. "This way." Inside, he led them up another set of stairs into what seemed like a far wing of the house. They reached a hallway with five doors. "We've set both of you up in the far rooms. Sai, you go the one on the right, Yang, you're in the one on the left. The bathroom is the door at the end of the hall."

"Thanks, we appreciate that." Sai didn't even have to force it, he was genuinely grateful for all the trouble they had gone through for them.

-"Oh, and one more thing, Sai. You can't show up at the dojo dressed like _that._" As Juji gave him a disapproving nod. I'll show you." She preceded him into his room. It was much larger than Sai expected. There was a bed which could fit about six people, bookcases filled to the brim on the wall opposing the bed, broken up by door which purpose Sai couldn't just yet figure out. There were elaborate artworks on the wall, and a small lounging area with two old fashioned lean-back chairs and a side table. Even the balcony was furnished. His curiosity once again beat his speechlessness. "What's behind the door?"

Juji giggled at the stunned expression on his face. "That's the closet. All students who are allowed to stay here usually come from far away, and they need a lot of storage space. You really are the first one I've met with who that isn't the case." She went into the "closet" which was larger than Sai remembered his own bedroom in Republic City to be, and it had one side with empty shelves, and the other half was partially filled with hanging uniforms and formal shoes underneath. "Do I really have to wear one of those monkey suits?"

-"This is one of the traditions my father insists you give in to. They're not that bad when you compare them to some other dojo's, trust me. What size do you usually wear?"

"No idea. These just kind of... fit."

Juji rolled her eyes, but she stubbornly continued. "Alright, do this the old fashioned way." She pulled one of the suits off the rack and handed it to Sai. "These look like they're about right. It was a red shirt, red pants and a robe that was a darker shade with golden trim. It took them three tries, but eventually found one that fit reasonably well.

"Well, you know what they say. Third time really _is_ the charm."

Juji still had her reservations. "I don't know, the pants are a bit long. I know a great tailor about a ten minute walk from here."

"Tailor? Are you kidding me? These fit better than any clothes I ever had! These'll do just fine."

She pointed to Sai's old clothes. "You want me to get those dry cleaned? Don't take this the wrong way, but they're kind of... filthy."

"_Dry cleaned_? Listen, these have only ever been washed in the pond of a park."

-"Yes, that is exactly what I mean. I'll send someone by to pick them up."

After that, they went down to the dining hall, where a complete buffet had been prepared, just like Serizawa said it would be. Sozu was already there, and he was wearing his uniform as well.

-"Hey Sai. Uniform looks much better on you than those old rags."

"I'd say 'likewise', but somehow I feel you wouldn't appreciate that very much."

Sozu laughed. "You got guts. A good thing too, you're going to need them. Come on, grab a quick bite, we don't want to be late at the dojo." They sat down, and had something to eat. It was very spicy, and Sai could barely cope, much to the amusement of the siblings. Sai saw how they were desperately trying to contain their laughter, but were starting to fail. "Hey, this is the first time I've been abroad..." He couldn't finish, because of the food, and the tears were rolling down his cheeks. "Holy shit, what is in that stuff?"

-"Ember Island peppers. Spiciest in the world."

"Yeah, no kidding."

-"Don't worry, you get used to it," Juji assured him. "Now you two better hurry up, you're going to be late."

"Wait, you're not coming with us?"

-"No, I'm not a firebender, I wouldn't be of much use to you. Now go, go!"


	9. A Single Step

-"Now remember, you bow as we enter, and you bow again when he says today's lesson is over. Got it?"

"I think so."

Even though Sozu still had his doubts, they entered the dojo anyway. It was located in the corner of the walled garden, itself consisting of an open and a covered part, presumably so the master didn't get wet when it rained. Both Sai and Sozu bowed respectfully when Serizawa walked out to greet them again. A slight smile broke across his face. "I see my son has a least taught you the basics of good manners. Let's get started."

They went out into the open part, where Sai was instructed to get into the lotus position.

"Firebending and earthbending are very different from each other. Earthbending relies on a steady stance and brute strength coming from the muscles. Firebending comes from the breath. You use your own inner fire to light it, your chi to fuel it, and your breath to fan it. _That_ is how you create fire."

Sai was pretty taken in by it all. "Great. So what's step one?"

-"What do you think?"

"Well, given your description, I'd say it's to find my inner fire."

-"But you already know what that is, don't you?"

"I have to keep the world from falling into disorder again."

"Good."

He spent most of the afternoon doing breathing exercises, and when they finished, he was properly tired. He did remember to bow as he left, and slumped back to the house. Sozu caught up to him before he could get to his room though.

-"Hey man. How was firebending?"

"I don't know. It's not like I can suddenly do it."

-"Don't be so down on yourself. You'll get it eventually. Now, dinner is served in ten minutes, so get cleaned up, and get to the dining hall. See you there!"

He ran off, presumably to his own room, while Sai cleaned up a little bit in the bathroom. Back in his room, he found his old clothes neatly wrapped in a bag, and they were perfectly clean. Juji wasn't kidding, he never noticed how filthy they actually were. The only thing that seemed to be missing were his shoes, so he just decided to wear those he wore to the firebending training. At the dining table, Serizawa sat at the head of the table, while his wife and children sat on adjacent sides. He sat down next to Juji, when he suddenly noticed that Yang wasn't there. "Hey, has anyone seen Yang?"

"No, I haven't seen her since we set you up in your rooms." Juji said.

Serizawa wasn't pleased by this. "She's probably still in her room. Sozu, go get her."

He let out an annoyed sigh. "_Fine_." He got up, but Sai stopped him. "I'll get her. She's my friend, I brought her here." Serizawa nodded approvingly, and Sai went to her room. She was sitting in one of the chairs, with a whole stack of books beside her. "Looks like you've been busy." He said, with a smirk on his face. "Come on, dinner is ready, we're all waiting for you."

-"What is the point? They're only this friendly because you are the Avatar."

"Well, that might have kickstarted it, but..."

-"Do you really think these people give a damn about a couple of kids from the street? Because I don't."

He sat down in the chair next to her. "Look, Yang, They might look down on us, but they are pretty nice people. You just need to open up to it, give them a chance."

-"Maybe."

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen? If you're not doing it for new friends, then at least do it for the free food."

She smiled. "Okay. Now could you give me a hand? You sink in this chair like crazy."

He helped her up and they walked down to the dining hall again. "Now try to be polite, these folks are a bit sensitive. Oh, and their food is extremely hot. Consider yourself warned."

They got back at the table, and their dinner soon arrived.

Mei Serizawa, Sozu and Juji's mother, was kindness itself. She insisted that Sai and Yang called her Mei, much to the annoyance of Suke Serizawa. Fortunately, the food was much less spicy than it had been in the afternoon. Sai was able to eat it without any real problems, and even Yang admitted that it tasted great. Sai did notice that Serizawa seemed to be in somewhat of a rush, but he soon got his answer as to why. After the dessert, he stood up the second Juji took the last bite, and finished as the last of them.

"If you would excuse me, I have to attend a meeting with the Governor. Mei, shall we get ready?"

-"Let's do that, darling. Good evening to you all."

They quickly got up and left the room, leaving Sai and Yang somewhat bewildered. Yang asked what was on the mind of both of them: "Do they do that often?"

"Yeah, kind of. Could be worse though, when Sozu and I were little, we always had to go with them and act like model children."

-"Yep, nothing like the good old days."

Sai wasn't impressed. "Sounds like you had a _real_ tough childhood."

"Well, there is indeed a sizeable gap between us. You had all the freedom in the world, we were watched twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week." Sozu didn't seem too pleased with Sai's cynical response, but Yang wasn't with his.

"Yeah, going to parties, wearing expensive clothes, never having to worry about food, living on a tropical island that hasn't had a day of bad weather in a century, I can hardly believe you survived in such total _fucking_ hardship!" After that, she stormed off, presumably back to her room.

Sai could only stare in horror as she slammed the door behind her. "I - I am really sorry about her. I'll try to talk some sense into her once she's cooled off a little bit."

"Yep, I'm sure you will." Sozu also wanted to walk out, but Juji stopped him before he reached the door. "Sozu, running away won't solve the issue."

"Since you don't seem to have better one, I'm going to try it. You know where to find me."

He too walked out, leaving a disgruntled Sai and a saddened Juji.

"What am I going to do about her, Juji?" He let his head rest on his hands.

-"Why? We're trying to let her in, but she doesn't seem to want to."

"She has more reason than most not to trust any parent figures, or almost anyone. I've known her for seven years, and I'm the only person she actually trusts. But she thinks you are only being nice to her because she came with me. Unfortunately, I can't shake the feeling that's true."

Juji didn't really know wajt to say to that, mostly because, well it _was_ true. She finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity. "Can I ask... Do you know what happened to her, that made her... like this?"

Sai sighed. "I know. But she really doesn't want people to find out. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you. Trust me."

"And what's your story? Will you tell me?"

He hesitated for a second. "Okay. But not here. This room makes me feel uncomfortable." He wandered out through the doors leading into the garden, and Juji followed him. The sun had set by now, but the paths were softly lit by lanterns shining down and a bright full moon. They walked side by side silently for a while, until they got to the cliff side, where he sat down on the ground. Reluctantly, Juji sat down next to him. Sai started talking.

"Right after I was born, my father, an earthbender, left me and my mother. I don't know where he went, and my mother never got to tell me, though I doubt she ever knew. She was a good, kind woman, working two jobs as a waitress in two different restaurants. We didn't have much, but we could get by. It kept at least some food on the table. A few days before my eighth birthday, we were walking through a neighborhood of the Water Tribes. The old "birds of a feather, they flock together" idea. We were stopped by a waterbender who picked me up with a tendril and put a spike to my head, threatening to kill me if she didn't hand over all the money she was carrying. She told him that she didn't have any, which was true, but he didn't believe her. He wanted to drive that spike right into my head, which was when I discovered my earthbending. On pure instinct, I threw up a wall, blocking his spike and freeing myself from his grip. I kicked in his direction, hoping the earth would move with that kick, and it did. It pushed him away a couple of feet, and he stumbled back and launched a volley of spikes our way. He made off, after he saw what he had done, and by the time I turned around to face my mother, she was dead. After that, I had nothing left. My father didn't come looking for me, and the police barely bothered to find him. I was moved into an orphanage, which wasn't too bad, considering I got food and education, and it was where I met Yang. We weren't best friends right away, but we didn't hate each other's guts or anything, we were just sort of... indifferent about each other. But it was over by the time I turned ten. The orphanage didn't have a lot of money, and they had to kick people out every once in a while. They would make up some bullshit file about being difficult to handle, breaking stuff, attacking other kids, you get the picture. They weren't entirely unfair, they typically kicked out the kids who could, in theory at least, handle themselves best on the street, so naturally, those were the benders. Yang and I were about the same age, so we were kicked out at the same time. We decided to stick together, and here we are."

Juji had her hand in front of her mouth in shock. It was silent for the longest time, as Sai just stared out over the ocean, and Juji let it all sink in. "You poor thing..." She finally managed, and she gave him a hug. He held her as well, realizing how vulnerable he made himself to her. He enjoyed the closeness, and let his head rest on hers, and felt how genuine her care was, as well as realizing how small she actually was compared to him. He relaxed, as he let her go.

-"Did they ever catch the man who did it?"

"No. Not that they will, he was just some random punk. Probably not even evil all the way through. Shit, if it hadn't been for the Chief sending me here, I would probably be him three years from now."

-"But that's totally unfair! I thought they always tried to solve crimes."

Sai let out a sarcastic sniff. "Yeah, it sucks, but with a case that won't make headlines, the police can't be bothered paying their people to try and solve it, when a dozen cases just like it happened that same day. Low profile, low priority. How do you think Yang and I got away with stealing our living together for five years straight?"

-"You did?"

"Of course. On the streets, it's kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. You're either the hunter or the prey. And if I had to make that choice again, I would. Nothing wrong with good morals, but they don't put any food on the table."

She fell silent again for a while. "Thank you," she finally said.

"For what? Getting you worried that I might make off with the contents of your daddy's safe in his office?"

-"For opening up to me."

"You're welcome." He stood up and lit a cigarette, as Juji stared in amazement. "Yeah, I know it's a bad habit, but it keeps me sane. Gives me something to strive for, as well as relieve a bit of stress." He explained, as he held the cigarette out to her. She hesitated, but she did take it. She coughed heavily after she inhaled, just like Sai expected. "That's alright, nobody gets it on the first try." She inhaled a second time, and still coughed, albeit a lot less than the first time around, and she handed the stick back to him.

-"What am I doing? Father would kill me if he found out!"

"How would he find out? I'm not going to tell him and neither are you." He pulled her on her feet again and threw the butt off the cliff. "Come on. We should get back to the house. I need to have that talk with Yang."

She smiled as they started walking back. "You didn't really mean that about the safe, did you?"

"Oh, so it is in his office? Now I just have to figure out the combination... It's probably your birthday." He couldn't help the massive sarcastic grin on his face.

She looked at him, and laughed.


	10. The Deal

Several weeks had passed since Sai and Yang had arrived at Ember Island. After he told Juji his story, smoking a cigarette together on the cliff had become kind of their daily thing. He managed to persuade Yang to be a little less hostile towards the Serizawas. It took some considerable effort, but, can't argue with results. Sai's firebending training was going nowhere though. He was at the dojo, and even the extremely patient master was starting to get frustrated at the Avatar's completely non-existent progress.

"Just breathe, concentrate and..." Sai tried a regular blast, but there was nothing. "Ugh! Still nothing!"

-"Calm down, Sai." Master Serizawa rubbed his forehead. "Anger isn't going to fix this problem."

"Well, maybe it can. Did the firebenders fuel their bending with anger for nearly a century?"

-"Those were dark times. You will _not_ resort to such desperate measures, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, master Serizawa." Though Sai was not the least bit convincing in his answer.

-"I have another idea. The winter solstice is approaching. During this, you will be more easily able to connect to your past lives."

"Oh really?"

-"Not with that attitude. There is a temple of the Fire Sages, not too far from Ember Island. You can go there and meditate. Get it right, and you can talk to the past Avatars."

"Do you really think that will work?"

Serizawa didn't answer. He thought for a while, when he hatched a plan. "Sozu knows the way there. He can guide you there. It's a small island, you can reach it with your boat."

"Sounds like a fun field trip. How do you know he'll want to go with me?"

-"Leave that to me. You start practicing your meditation, you're going to need it."

They finished their session soon after, and Sai went back to the house. He found Yang on the balcony of her room, reading. She must have torn through most of the bookcase, he thought. He let himself fall into the chair next to her, and she put down her book. "Still no fire?"

"Not even a spark. Serizawa says that I can ask my past lives for help on the winter solstice."

-"That sounds promising. Maybe they can help you figure this whole thing out."

"That's what he said. It does mean I'll be gone for a few days, as I have to go to a temple on another island."

-"Sounds like you don't want me there."

"Maybe it'll be good. You know, clear my head for a few days. Sozu will show me the way to the island, but from there, I'm on my own. You think you can manage?"

-"Sai, we made it five years together. Don't you think I can make a few days on my own?"

"Well, it's just... You barely leave your room, you reject everything Juji and Sozu are trying to do for you and ignore the other Serizawa's."

-"You're still trying to make me become friends with those stuck-up..."

He sighed. "I'm just asking you to give it a chance. You know, try out something else."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Look, I know you're getting cozy with Juji, and I'm fine with that. But are you really forcing me to become besties with her as well?"

"Dah! No, just... just stop ignoring her or shoot down _every_ positive attitude she sends your way, just for a few hours, and you might find out that she is really nice."

-"Fine. But if it isn't working, you'll drop it. Deal?"

"Deal."

Sai went to his room and changed out of his uniform, when Sozu knocked on his door. "My father just talked to me. He wants me to take you to some island with a temple on it on the winter solstice."

"Yep, sounds about right. We're taking the Smuggler, should be fun."

Even though Sozu seemed to be a bit bitter when he first walked in, this seemed to cheer him up. "Sweet. But anyway, that's not why I'm here. I have something to ask you."

"Shoot."

-"I've always practiced against other firebenders. Do you think... you could, you know, train me to fight against earthbending?"

Sai raised an eyebrow and got a grin on his face. "You're asking me to beat you up? Boy, this trip is going to be better than I thought."

-"I'm asking you to train me, not beat me up."

"Same thing, only way to learn. Trust me, it's how I learned."

-"Alright. What do you say, leave tomorrow morning? That will give us plenty of time before the winter solstice."

"Fine."

He quickly went out to buy some cigarettes, as he was nearly out. Otherwise, he would have to make at least three days without, and he wasn't sure if he could do that. Or Juji. He felt kind of bad about getting her addicted so soon, but he also loved spending time with her. Sai was pretty sure Mei suspected something, but she was too discrete to mention it, and Serizawa himself probably didn't notice.

Running back with two packs in his pocket, he suddenly had a bright idea. He went back to Yang's room, where she was still reading. "I have something for you." He said, and she looked up. He flashed one of the packs, and she got a twinkle in her eyes.

-"Nice."

He held it out to her, but pulled it back away just before she could reach it. "One condition: You do this together with Juji or not at all. Deal?"

-"You _evil_ man! You're blackmailing me, aren't you?"

"Yes."

She sighed. "Fine. You really know how to force me into a corner, don't you?"

"Come on. It'll only be for a few days. Sozu and I are leaving tomorrow morning. Something to do with him learning to fight earthbenders."

-"That should be good. How much of his body do you think will be covered in bruises when you get back?"

"At least a quarter. I'll try to shoot for half."

Yang smiled, as Sai threw her the box of cigarettes. "Yeah, alright, I'll smoke 'em with Juji."

"See you at dinner."

The morning came quick for Yang. She heard the engine of the Smuggler start, and she ran to the balcony and jumped off, catching herself with her airbending on the jetty. She waved as Sai and Sozu left, Serizawa turned to her. "That was... quite the entrance, I'll say."

"Meh, being an airbender does have its upsides. It's not the best trick I have up my sleeve, believe me. And I'm not even a master!"

-"I see humility is _not_ one of your stronger suits. Neither is a proper sense of attire, I should add." He said, with a very distinct denigrating undertone.

"What do you mean? I'm wearing a bathrobe."

"Yes, and that is intended for use in the bathroom, and your nightclothes underneath for the bedroom. We are outside, and if you would be so kind to put on some decent clothes, you can join us for breakfast."

Serizawa didn't notice how she rolled her eyes, but Juji did, and both girls couldn't help but crack a smile. "Fine." With a quick blast, she launched herself a long way up the cliffside again, and a few more blasts landed her back on her balcony. She dressed herself and went down to the dining hall for breakfast, where the remaining Serizawa's were waiting for her. She sat down next to Juji, who decided to try again.

-"Alright Yang, I've been thinking: you're plowing through that bookcase at a considerable speed. It got me was curious: if you're so hell-bent on learning, why not come to school with me?"

Yang sighed, but the concept did appeal to her. It was just _how_ she would end up in that school that isn't the least bit attractive. But she made Sai a promise not to shoot down her every suggestion, so she decided to do it. "Sure." It came out more hesitant than she wanted to. "When do we start?"

Juji was surprised. "Ehh, tomorrow. That's perfect, it gives us some time to get you the necessary equipment."

"What equipment?"

-"Oh, you know, uniform, writing gear, notebook, books, not to mention a little bit of school etiquette."

_What did I just get myself into?_ Was the thought that shot through Yang's head. Still, she agreed and she wouldn't back down now.

Juji was still rambling on. "We need to go to that place on Temple Street, they'll have most of the stuff there. Uniform might be difficult, though."

"Juji, let me stop you there. Why don't we just go into town, and figure it out as we go along? It'll be like a girls' day out."

She looked at her parents, who nodded in unison. "Let's get ready then."

They quickly finished their breakfast and got themselves ready for day in town. That is, Yang brushed her teeth and Juji seemed to pack enough supplies to carry out a military invasion, but eventually, they were ready. As they walked out the gate, Juji broke the silence. "So... What did it cost Sai to get you to say "yes"?"

"You don't think I did this voluntarily?"

-"No."

"Fair enough. Pack of cigarettes, on the condition that I share them with you."

-"What? He promised he wouldn't tell anyone!"

"He didn't, I see you two lovebirds sneak out every night to a corner of the garden. Trust me, I know how convincing he can be, and what a bad influence he can have on people."

Juji stumbled across her own words, but finally managed to get herself back together. "Just please don't tell my father, okay?"

Yang smiled. "So this is what position of power feels like..." She saw the worried look on Juji's face. "Don't worry, I'm only messing with you."

-"That's not funny. I would be in big trouble if he ever found out."

"Well, it is funny to me."

They had reached the town, and Juji knew the way. Yang quickly noticed how she was in her element, knowing all the shops, helping Yang get everything she would need. It turned out to be quite a lot. She was surprised when she realized just how much fun she was having, and even though she hated to admit it, Sai was right. Juji was a lot of fun to be around, genuinely trying to help her out. Once they had everything, they decided to get a drink on a terrace before heading back to Serizawa Manor.

Yang decided now was a good a time as any. "You know, I owe you an apology. I've been nothing but mean to you for weeks, and you didn't deserve it. My prejudices about you were just... wrong."

-"That's okay. It must have been quite a shock trying to adapt to this life, coming from the street."

"That wasn't it. It's just that... I don't know, it felt to me like you were only being nice to me because I came with Sai, and he's the Avatar."

-"To be fair, in the beginning, I did think so. Neither my brother or I looked forward very much to meeting you, or Sai, knowing our parents would force us to be friendly to you. Sai kept telling me that you are nice once I got to know you, and the more time went on, the more I felt like he was wrong. I'm glad you finally gave in. This was fun."

"Yeah. I never had a girl to really hang out with."

-"Neither did I."

This took Yang by surprise. "What? You don't have friends to do this kind of stuff with you?"

-"No, not really. My parents are always very strict about me coming home straight after school, and that doesn't make many friends. It's not that I don't have anybody I like, it's just that, I never had a real friend."

Yang let this sink in for a little while. "I... I don't know what to say. You seem to make friends so easily, seeing how well you and Sai, and even _we_ it hit off today."

-"I should let you know, I am kind of jealous of you and Sai. Your friendship, that is."

Yang laughed. "Good thing too. The rest of our lives wouldn't exactly suit you, princess."

-"I know. Sai told me his story. It's harsh."

"If your fishing for mine, forget it, _if_ I ever decide I want to tell you, I'll let you know."

Juji was startled by Yang harsh response. "I'm sorry. I was... I was just curious."

"Well, if Sai told you his story, chances are he also told I don't like mine, and I definitely don't like people finding out about it. So just drop it."

Yang didn't really want it to come out so rude, but she really didn't want to talk about it. She hated talking about her past, especially to someone she barely knew and who had it easy from day one.

They finished their drinks silently, and went back to the Manor directly after.

After dinner, Yang looked up Juji again, and they wandered out into the garden. Not to the cliffs, but to the dojo, knowing that was the last place Serizawa would be looking for them. They sat on the wall and looked out over the island. Yang gave Juji a cigarette, and they sat there silently. Yang finally broke it. "Look, I'm sorry about getting so angry this afternoon. It's just... My whole life, people have been telling me they can help me, and only one person ever did. Three guesses who."

-"Don't need them."

"I was counting on it."

They fell silent again for a while.

"Is this what you where hoping to achieve?"

-"More or less. I imagined it a little different in my head, but you know what they say, can't argue with results."

"Did it include the part of me yelling?"

-"Well, I did say "more or less" didn't I?"

"That you did."

-"Joking aside though, I was hoping you would trust me a little more."

"Well, I do. More than I did this morning, at least. Maybe not what you hoped for, but did you really expect me to turn on like 'that'?" Yang snapped her fingers to accompany her words.

-"Well, I guess not. But in the end, Sai was right, wasn't he? This was fun."

"Yes he was right. But if you ever tell him that, I will kill you." She said, unable to repress the sarcastic grin.

Juji smiled too. "Come on. We should be getting back. We wouldn't want my parents to find us here like this."


	11. The Thief, the Nobleman and the Avatar

Sozu was at the helm of the Smuggler. Despite some initial struggles, mostly with Sozu trying to come to grips with the phenomenal power of the boat, and nearly running down a swimmer, they were making good progress.

-"Sai, do you really think this is going to work?"

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. But your father assured me it would, if I would only give it a chance. I have a gut feeling he might be right."

-"A gut feeling? That's not an awful lot to go on."

"Well, no, but it's not like I have any reason not to try it. It's been four months and I still can't make even the smallest flame."

-"Good point. But he also said something about meditation. What do you know about that?"

"Not much. I was hoping the Fire Sages could help me with that. I mean, you would think a bunch of high priests can tell me how to meditate."

-"You might want to tone down a little. I've met them, they're old. I mean, _old_. If you think my father clings to tradition too much, get ready for these guys. He is a rebel compared to them."

"Somehow I'm having a hard time imagining that."

-"Get used to it. But the drill is the same as when you enter the dojo: Just bow, and show your respect to them. They are probably more excited to meet you than you are to meet them."

"Now _that_, I have no trouble imagining."

Sozu laughed. He slowed the boat down, because the wind was picking up and he couldn't keep it going as fast as they were. Sai had an idea.

"We could dock at that island over there. We could get a little bit of practice there."

-"Nah, we're nearly there anyway. If we can keep up this speed, it should be no more than half an hour."

"Well, you're the captain."

-"But maybe you could give me a little head start."

"Head start? What do you mean?"

-"Just some things you think I'll have trouble with."

"Those will be plenty. For instance, your style. You use a very classical style of firebending. There's not enough defense in it."

-"That's inherent to firebending."

"In your case, yes. But in Republic City, no. Tables have turned on what's what. Airbending is more direct, firebending is more passive, waterbending is more aggressive and earthbending is lighter on its feet."

-"Great little speech, but it doesn't mean anything to me."

"Don't worry. When you've taken a few hits, it will."

-"You seem very confident about that."

"Wanna put your money where your mouth is?"

-"You don't have any money. It would be quite a one-sided bet, now wouldn't it?"

"Alright, I'll tell you what, if you land the first hit, I'll take back everything I said. If I land the first hit, you teach me The Lighter."

-"The what?"

"The Lighter. You know, where you flick you thumb up and it makes a small, but constant flame?"

-"Oh, you mean The Matchhead?" He proceeded to demonstrate it, and it was the same move Mako used to light their cigarettes back in Republic City.

"Yeah, that one."

-"Why would you specifically want to learn that one? That's a master's technique."

"So I don't have to worry about losing this thing" He pulled his lighter out of his pocket. "or getting it wet. Useful as they are, they do have downsides."

Sozu sighed. "You want me to teach you one of the most trivial moves of firebending so you can light a cigarette more easily?"

"Yes. I think the stakes just shifted in your favor."

-"No they didn't. Contrary to what you might think, or what it looks like, it's quite a difficult move. It requires very fine control over your breath and your chi."

"But you are still able to show it off while you're driving a speedboat."

-"I've been instructed in firebending since I was six. You still have a lot of catching up to do."

"Then it sounds like a fair bet to me."

He smiled. "Alright, you're on."

They continued on, and just like Sozu said, about half an hour later, they arrived at the island of the Fire Sages temple. They saw the temple, but realistically, they couldn't miss it. There was a small bush on on side of the island, and the temple towered out over the highest trees. It was a beautiful temple, Sai thought. Richly decorated, with a bright red roof and golden inlays all around. It was a small island, unnamed on the map. They sailed around it, only to discover there was no dock or jetty.

"There's no way I'm letting you stop by beaching the Smuggler. Get me close, I'll make you a dock." Sozu navigated closer to the shore, and Sai jumped overboard and swam to the beach, where he raised a dock with a few improvised rocks to attach the mooring lines to.

"Your father really wasn't kidding when he said it was a small island."

-"No he wasn't. Don't you know yet he's not really the man to do that?"

"I guess not. Let's just find the Sages."

This came as another surprise to them. They walked up to the temple doors, which was inside a dragons mouth. Only now did Sai realize the temple was decorated in such a way that it appeared like a dragon was curled around it, it's tail being the pinnacle of the temple. They walked in, and saw the Fire Sages waiting for them. They all bowed to him. "It is our honor to welcome you here, Avatar."

Sai and Sozu both bowed back. "Thank you," Sai opened. "But how did you know I was coming?"

-"The spirits were growing restless. When we asked them about what was troubling them, they told us the new Avatar had been found. With the winter solstice approaching, we, and other sages around the Fire Nation were expecting you. And now, to us you have come."

"I am here to contact my previous lives. My firebending training isn't going anywhere and my master advised me to come here, and ask you for help."

-"A good advice, I must say. But are you not aware you can only talk to Avatar Korra?"

"No, why? I thought there were hundreds of them."

-"There were, but Avatar Korra was forced to restart the Cycle during Harmonic Convergence. She is the only one."

-"Okay, you just said a bunch stuff I don't understand. Can you help me or not?"

The sage looked a bit shocked. Sai couldn't pin down if it was because of his language or because of his lack of knowledge about his own past, but he ultimately did give in. "Yes, I think we can help you."

"Good, but first, my friend and I have some unfinished business. Sozu, shall we do this far away, where we don't have to worry about damaging the temple?"

-"Good idea."

They went outside again, and walked to the other side of the island, in front of the small bush. They both got ready for battle, and Sozu taunted Sai. "Come on kid, give it your best shot."

Sai responded. He lifted three rocks, and shot them in Sozu's direction, but he dodged all three. He got a blast of fire back, but it was not hard to evade. The firebender shot a vertical fire blade his way, followed quickly by a horizontal one. Sai ducked under the latter, and kicked three rocks in a swirling motion, and another one from the opposite angle. This was a clean hit, knocking Sozu down. Sai walked over to see if he hadn't hurt him too badly.

-"How did you do that? That really hurt!"

"Warned you. Looks like I won this one."

-"Yeah, you did alright."

Sai pulled him on his feet again. "You didn't listen to me. I told you, you need to be more adaptive."

-"But I don't know what you mean with that!"

"Means that you had an idea of me in your head. You probably thought something like "Oh, an earthbender nearly a head shorter than me, this should be easy." Am I wrong?"

-"No, not entirely."

"You stuck to that idea, not opening up to the notion that I use that as an advantage: I'm more nimble, more difficult to hit and, ironically, lighter on my feet than you are."

-"That was your so-called _modern style_, wasn't it?"

"Yes. And I also warned you that I've been in a fight or two, especially with firebenders. Let's go again, and this time, listen to me."

Sozu nodded, and they took their positions again. This time it was he who opened up the fight, shooting two quick jabs in Sai's direction, forcing him left. Sai rolled out of the way, raising a wall in front of him in the process. This blocked Sozu's next shot, and Sai jumped over the wall, shooting a fissure in the direction of the firebender. This brought him off-balance, but he quickly recovered and sent another jab at Sai's feet. He bent a rock underneath his feet up, allowing him to do a flip, and sent it to the firebender, landing another square hit on the chest.

"Need a hand there?"

-"Just... let... me... catch... my breath..."

"Knocks it right out, doesn't it?"

Sozu didn't say anything, he just nodded while gasping for air. He finally came around again. "Was that better?"

"Much. Didn't you notice you forced me on the defensive more?"

-"I did, but you were still easily able to land a hit."

"That's because you need to work on your own defense as well."

-"Well, you know what they say, the best defense is a good offence."

"Yeah, I think I just proved twice to you that holds no water. That only works if you have the upper hand in the fight, and in this fight, I had the upper hand."

-"Good point. But firebending hardly has any defensive moves."

"Hardly being the key word here." Sai walked back in the other direction again. "Try the fire bomb, that works for defense pretty well."

-"That... might actually work."

"Only one way to find out!" Sai suddenly turned around, shooting another rock in Sozu's direction. He accurately used to fire bomb to knock it out of mid-air.

"Told you you could do it."

They continued practicing for the next two days, and Sozu picked up the modern style of firebending surprisingly well. He wouldn't make a pro-bending team with it, but for a few days practice, and a lot of hits from Sai, much to the Avatar's amusement, it definitely wasn't bad.

But now the real reason they came here dawned. Literally. The winter solstice began, and Sai went with the Fire Sages to the top of the temple. There, he was led to the roof, the Dragon's Tail. Sai and the High Sage sat down there.

"So what do I do now?"

-"You meditate. You are always able to contact your past lives, but during the solstices, it is a lot easier, especially for young Avatars."

"Yeah, I got that, but what do I do? I don't know anything about meditation."

-"It is not hard. There isn't even anything to do, just try to clear your head of all thoughts."

They spent most of the day up there, and Sai hadn't even caught so much as a glimpse of Korra, or anything resembling the Spirit World. He had just about had it. "I knew it. This was a giant waste of time." Sai stood up and walked back to the door they came from.

-"Avatar Sai, wait! The spiritual energy of the solstice is strongest during sunset!"

He let his head hang and sighed. "We sat here. All. _Fucking_. Day. And you wait until _now_ to tell me that?!"

The old man was slightly shocked by Sai's language, but he didn't give up. "I know. I could have told you this earlier, but what if you were able to get into contact with Avatar Korra on your own?"

"Yeah, that would have been nice, but you could have told me that five hours ago. I could have had lunch instead of wasting my time on this roof!"

-"But I must strongly urge you to stay. The sun will set soon, and if you are not here at that time, you will have to wait six months for the next solstice."

Sai really felt like it was a waste of time, but the sage did have a point. He couldn't bear the thought of another six months of uncertainty, so he sat down again, this time facing west, directly into the sun, which was nearly touching the horizon. He tried to ignore his hunger and his frustration, but was only moderately successful in that. Suddenly, something Serizawa said popped back into his head. It seemed so trivial at the time, but now, it seemed more fitting than ever. _"Anger isn't going to fix this problem." Only willpower will_. He felt his head clear. He exhaled one more time, and felt a gust of wind pass him. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer on the roof of the temple. He was sitting on a floor, which had a few inches of fog hanging over it, but strangely, he couldn't see more than a few feet because the fog appeared to be in a sort of sphere around him. He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. A woman emerged from the fog. She was in her mid-thirties, but Sai recognized her. Unmistakable. Nevertheless, he could only manage one thing to say.

"Avatar Korra..."

-"It's good to see you, Sai."

Sai was completely for words. On the one hand, he was relieved, because it meant everything that was told him in the last four months actually _was_ true. On the other, it struck him that the weight of world would lean on him. Plus, it was very weird to realize that he was talking to a person who had been dead for fifteen years.

-"You have questions, don't you?"

"I do. Everyone tells me I'm the Avatar, and that I'm going to bring balance to the world, but I don't know how."

-"What do you mean with that?"

"Well, it was Republic City's Chief of Police who told me I was the Avatar. After that, he told me that tensions with the Earth Federation are rising, and that the Republic has been falling apart since you died, but I don't know what any of that means, let alone that I'm able to fix it!"

-"Mako is a good Chief, but he is also a bit of a pessimist. You still have time to stop the war he is talking about, if you stand in front of the people. They need to be led back into calm waters."

"Great plan, but who would follow me? I know I wouldn't. I'm not some great leader, like you, I'm just some kid who grew up on the street. I mean, I can't even bend something other than earth!"

-"You should not be so concerned about that. Let me tell you a story. When I was about your age, I could bend water, earth and fire, but air was out of the question. I fought a mad man who used bloodbending to take people's bending away, and he got me too. But because I was not spiritually connected to air, he could not sever me from that. He was about to do the same to my friend, the current Chief of Police, and this prompted me to connect to my last element and defeat him. What it takes, is the right incentive."

"And how can I move that along?"

-"These things are not always in your control. But I assure you, when that moment arrives, you will discover your true potential."

Sai let it all sink in for a moment. "Thank you, Avatar Korra."

She smiled. "The winter solstice is ending. But this will not be the last time we talk. Good luck Sai."

The fog closed in on him with the same gust of wind when he entered the Spirit World, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back on the roof of the temple, and the sun had set completely. The High Sage was eagerly awaiting him. "Avatar Sai, were you able to contact Korra?"

"Yes I was."

He sighed in relief. "The Avatar Cycle is safe."

They went down again, and Sai was glad to see that food had been prepared: he was starving. He and Sozu decided to stay the night on the island, and set off again the following morning. They thanked the sages, fired up the Smuggler, and both feeling accomplished, sped off, back to Ember Island.


	12. The Golden Cage

Sai drove back, as Sozu was pretty beaten up, just as Sai promised. The firebender was limping, because he'd taken a hit to the leg. He had also some difficulty breathing, leading Sai to suspect he'd broken a couple of ribs.

"You might want to see a doctor when we get back. You don't look too good."

-"Oh, shut up. I know you're just doing this to gloat, so just let me be, okay?"

"No, I'm serious. I could have done some real damage, and you don't want to keep walking around with that. I've seen people who nearly died because they refused to seek help. Just... do it."

-"Okay, fine."

"Don't you dump all over me now. You were the one who asked me to train you, and I warned you it would be painful for you."

-"It would help if you weren't so pleased with yourself."

"_That_ would help you, but unfortunately, I am pretty pleased with myself at the moment." Sai said, with a grin that caused Sozu to let out a tiresome "ugh". This only made Sai's grin broader, and the firebender turned away.

"Lighten up, we're nearly there."

It was true. The return journey seemed a lot shorter, as it usually does. Sai recognized a few of the islands the sailed past on the first leg. The water was a brighter shade of blue near Ember Island. So when the sea turned from a deep blue to azure again, he knew they couldn't far anymore. Soon, he docked the Smuggler at the Serizawa jetty again, where Yang and Juji were waiting for them. Juji was shocked to see the state her brother was in.

-"My Lord, what happened to you?! You look like you just fought a small war on your own, are you alright?"

Sai pulled him onto the dock. "He kind of did. And yes, with a bit patchwork, he'll be fine."

-"What are you talking about?

"I asked him to train me." Sozu grunted in pain. "He really did..."

Juji turned her head slowly to face Sai. He raised is shoulders and put up the most innocent smile he could muster up. She rolled her eyes and walked back to the house. Sai helped Sozu climb the stairs, as he had trouble on his own with his limp.

Yang carried Sozu's bag. "Didn't I ask you to go easy on him? Look at him!"

Sai protested. "I did! I stopped after every hit to give him some room to breathe. He wanted to go on after every run."

-"Well, at least we made some progress. Gah!" Sozu grunted in pain again as Sai accidentally pressed on his broken ribs.

"Sorry. But he is right, we both got what we came for. I did get to talk to Korra."

-"That's great, right? Was she able to help you? Can you shoot _fire_ now?"

"No. She told me what I need is "the right incentive", whatever that means."

-"Sounds absolutely useless."

"No, it means I have to wait for the right moment. I don't know when that will be, but she assured me it will come by.

-"Like I said."

"You know, a bit more optimism wouldn't hurt anyone."

-"The way I recall it, you always liked me this way."

"Times change, deal with it."

They had reached the gate, and Mei came running out. Juji must have warned her. Her reaction was very similar to her daughter's. She took him to the doctor straight away. Sai ditched his stuff in his room, which was impeccably clean again, and went to Juji's room. He knew which door it was, but he'd never actually been inside.

She let him in, and Sai saw that it was most definitely a girl's room, with a very cozy atmosphere. It was lower than the guest bedrooms Sai and Yang were staying in, but it wasn't cramped in any way. She had the bright idea to paint the wall pink instead of red, making appear bigger. Juji had a look on her face that told Sai he better had a good explanation.

"You're not really mad, are you?"

-"You beat up my brother! Badly, I should stress!"

"He _asked_ for it!"

-"Bullshit. He would _never_ push you so far."

Sai was a bit surprised that she had taken over his bad language. "No, I'm serious. He actually asked for it. He asked me to train him how to fight an earthbender, seeing how he only ever practiced against other firebenders, and yes, I hit him. Quite a few times, actually." Juji didn't appreciate the smile on his face that appeared with the last remark. "Look. I warned him that this would happen, and he accepted that."

-"But how far did you push him?"

"I already told Yang, I stopped after every hit, but he wanted to continue. We practiced for two days."

-"Don't you know yet? The division in our family is actually quite fair: I got the brains, he got the brawn."

"You can't really stay this mad. Do you really think I would go away for three days with him if I thought I would beat him up because we hate each other's guts?"

-"Hmm, I guess not."

"Come on, let's get a drink in town. I'm buying. Just the two of us. What do you say?"

-"I don't know, my parents are both gone, they would be worried if I left without telling them."

"So what? We're on an island where everyone knows who you are, what could possibly happen to you?"

She hesitated, clearly not entirely at ease with Sai's reasoning, but she reluctantly gave in. "I guess."

They walked down to the beach, where the view from the terrace was gorgeous. It was higher up than the beach, giving them a good view of whatever happened. It was the middle of winter in Republic City, causing the richer people there to flee to Ember Island. They enjoyed their drink, talking about nothing much, until Sai though of what he'd asked Yang.

"Did Yang *ahem* _share_ with you?"

-"Yes, she did. Just like you asked."

"How did you know that? She's clever enough not to tell you that."

-"I told you, Sozu got the brawn, I got the brain. I didn't think she'd suddenly agree to go to school with me if you didn't have something to do with it. Call it "the right incentive" if you will."

Sai was so surprised choked on his drink. When he came back around, the surprise hadn't left his face yet. "School?!"

"Yeah, I invited her to come along. It was fun. You'd be surprised that she's a quick learner and remarkably sharp."

Sai was completely lost for words. It did seem like Yang, who he vaguely remembered as being a bit of a bookworm in the orphanage, but he assumed she did it here to kill time. Still, it had had the desired effect.

"I... I don't know what to say. I never thought she would give in like that."

-"Well, she wasn't too excited about it first, but we spent the day in town, shopping for the stuff she needed, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. So, between you leaving for the solstice and coming back again, we've been to school together."

"Well, if you both think that, great!"

-"Yes, I always say, you can't argue with results. Still, I have missed you. It wasn't the same, sitting on the roof of the dojo with her."

"What do you say? Cliffs again tonight?"

-"Sure, why not."

They spent the rest of the afternoon there, until they had to get back for dinner. Mei and Suke Serizawa weren't too pleased to see their daughter coming back like this, but they didn't make too much of a fuss about it, just like Sai had predicted. Sozu walked with a crutch, and he showed the bandage around his chest. Turns out he had a few fractures in his leg, but it wasn't fully broken. He did have three fractured ribs and two cracked ones.

After dinner, Sai retreated to his room and Juji came to find him there. He was lying in the deep couch on the balcony, when she walked in. Because it had its back to the door, she didn't see him at first.

-"Sai? Are you in here?"

He raised his arm over the backrest. "Over here, why don't you join me?"

She walked over to him, and made a questioning face. "Could you sit up? More than enough room on this thing for the two of us, but no like when you're lying like this."

He smiled, and with one smooth move, pulled her down to lie next to him.

-"Hey, what are you..."

Sai interrupted her. "Come on, we just spent an hour on a perfectly straight chair, I want to chill a little bit, just try it with me. Screw the cliffs, this is a _way_ better seat."

She relaxed, and started to appreciate it more. Sai pulled the box of cigarettes out of his pocket, and lit one. He sucked on it once, and handed it to Juji. She calmly took it and he could feel how her stress flowed out, every time she exhaled smoke. They were perfectly content, and that moment could have lasted forever.

He lit another one, and Juji smiled. "You know, my father would probably murder you if he found us like this."

"You worry too much. When are you finally gonna learn that "the future" is not the only thing that matters? You need to enjoy the moment more."

-"Yeah, right. And deal with my parents later, because that is just what would happen."

"Maybe that's the issue. You still look at your parents for everything. You doubted big time when we went into town this afternoon, and that's no more than ten minutes walking from her!"

-"I know. It's just... They've always been there for me, and they have always protected me. I've never had any reason not to trust them, or listen to them. I did what they told me to, and I never had to worry about anything."

"But you're fourteen years old, heck, nearly fifteen, and you still ask them for permission to go to in a town ten minutes away?"

Juji didn't answer. It seemed like Sai hit a sore spot with her, but she didn't seem to mind all that much. "I have a feeling part of you wants to get caught like this."

-"What? That's ridiculous! I told you, I would be in big trouble."

"Exactly. How many times has that happened in your life?

Juji sighed. "I get your point."

"You're living in a cage, Juji, and it doesn't matter that it's made out of gold. You're old and wise enough to make your own decisions."

-"So what are you saying? I should aspire to be more like you?"

"I wouldn't exactly take me as an example of how to get it right, but a bit more rebellion wouldn't harm anyone."

A brief silence fell.

-"I don't know. It seems like you do things and only then worry about the consequences."

"Maybe, but here we are, in exactly the same place."

-"That's not entirely fair. You have a lifetime worth of trouble behind you, and you're not even old enough to travel without a supervisor."

"Got here with Yang, and she's not a supervisor. But Juji, you're missing the point. You should get out there, see that the world is bigger than this island."

-"Yeah right. And where and how should I do that? I have left this island once, and that was when I had to go with my parents to a meeting with the Fire Lord."

"Go with me."

-"What?"

"Well, I'm not going to stick around here forever, I have two more elements to go after fire. Come with me. Should be fun."

-"Are you crazy? Do you think my father would ever allow me to do that?"

"No he would not," said a familiar voice behind them.

Juji quickly got up. "Father..."

_Fuck._ Of all the thoughts running through Sai's head, that was the most prevalent one. He got up as well.

"Master Serizawa, I..."

-"Silence! Avatar Sai, we have a _lot_ to discuss. Jinzuri, get out."

She quietly abided him, and Sai was lost for words.

-"So, this is what you have been doing in your spare time. Getting my daughter addicted to smoking behind my back."

"Well... That was not how it started, but..."

-"Do you really believe _that_ matters to me? How it started? The only thing that concerns me, is what you are doing to my daughter!"

"It's her own choice. The first one she's ever made."

-"So you are both poisoning my daughter and insulting my parenting. You need to think _very_ carefully about your next move."

"All I wanted to do was help her. She desperately needed a friend, because her best friend was her brother. That ain't right."

-"Wrong answer. You are not to see my daughter again without the presence of either me or my wife. Ignore this, and you will no longer be welcome in this house. Do I make myself clear?"

Sai was torn. "Crystal."

Serizawa left without saying another word, and Sai let himself fall back onto his couch. _Fuck._ He lit up another cigarette, not caring about how quickly he was burning through them. Then, he heard more footsteps. When he looked over the backrest of the couch, he saw that it was Yang.

"You heard the whole thing, didn't you?"

-"Yes I did. Serizawa's voice carries quite a bit."

"I'm not really in the mood for this, if you don't mind."

-"No, I'm here to tell you that I agree with you."

"So what? Now I got to fix this situation."

-"Don't worry, it'll all work out."

Sai let himself fall back into the sofa, while smoking the last bit of cigarette.

-"When you were gone, Juji told me she never had any real friends. Hopefully, she'll finally tell her parents this now."

"I'm not counting on it. She's already neck-deep in shit because she was caught with a cigarette. I don't think she wants to dig herself in even deeper by saying Serizawa kept her a prisoner."

-"I was thinking, It was about time something like this happened."

"You heard that as well?"

-"No, but the thought passed through my head."

"You're probably right. Bit of suffering is good for the soul. I just wish she would see it that way."

Yang got a worried expression on her face, not at all convinced Juji would.


	13. The Ambush

Three weeks had passed since Serizawa caught Sai and Juji. He noticed how she had become noticeably more distant. After a few days, Sai got the feeling she was purposefully avoiding him. He didn't blame her, but still. It was a lot to take in, especially if this was the first time she really got into trouble.

The firebending hadn't stopped, but Serizawa had also become far more distant. He stopped calling him Sai, and instead referred to him as Avatar. He took in two other firebenders, who were mostly just sharpening their skills, and let Sozu take over the training of Sai, since he wasn't getting anywhere fast. Not that Sai minded that much, it was mostly Juji's detachment that bothered him. Yang was of course with him, but it wasn't exactly like she was a shining example of how to succeed at life.

Sozu secretly agreed with Sai, and they had been spending more time together. Neither Mei not Suke Serizawa minded that, perhaps because they figured Sai wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Or maybe because they knew Sozu wasn't so easily tempted. Either way, this was the hand they had been dealt, and they just had to make it work.

Sai and Sozu were wrapping up their training, when Sozu asked a question that had been in his head for a while now. "Sai, could we try the whole "earth vs. fire" thing again?"

"I don't know, remember what I did to you last time around?"

-"Duh, I just got over that. But I want to have another go. I've been practicing and I want try again."

"Maybe it's safer if you go a few rounds against Yang first. Fighting an airbender is closer to a firebender, and noticeably less dangerous than earth."

-"You weren't so reluctant the first time around."

"Well, your parents didn't hate my guts back then. I get the distinct feeling your father is looking for an excuse to kick me out of the house."

-"Nonsense. It'll blow over, trust me."

"Oh yeah? Sozu, it's been three weeks, and he hasn't let up once. Neither has your sister, for that matter."

-"Well, what did you expect? You got her into this mess."

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

-"Well, kind of. You did get her smoking, and you two were making yourself *ahem* _very_ comfortable."

"I didn't force her to do anything! She went with me, she accepted the cigarette, she..." He didn't finish, but instead sighed.

-"Look, kid, I know you think you did a good thing, but you need to put yourself in her mind. It's kind of a different world for us. You never faced the repercussions of your actions."

"No, all I did was risk the next ten years of my life in a box. It wasn't exactly "happy go lucky" for me, okay?"

-"But you never did get caught, and now you're living here. And now my father told me to try and beat "actions have consequences" into you. It's turning out to be surprisingly difficult."

"I'm flattered."

-"Wasn't a compliment, city boy." It fell silent for a little while. "Let's go inside. Dinner will probably be ready soon."

They did just that, and it was just as stiff and uncomfortable as it had been for the past three weeks. Sai and Juji were seated strategically at far ends of the table, whereas previously only Serizawa had been slightly displeased that his daughter was getting _this_ friendly with a street rat. The two new students, Rina and Noren, tried to stay out of this as much as they could. Sai watched them practice a few times. They were good, and from the looks of it, didn't really need Serizawa's tutelage.

After dinner, by the time it had gone dark, Sai noticed Juji and Yang wander out into the garden. He decided to go after them, this had to stop.

"Wait up!"

Juji turned away from him. "Go away."

"Are you really still that mad?"

-"Weren't you the one to say that I was locked in a golden cage? Well, guess what, the door had always been on a crack, but now they locked it and threw away the key."

Sai didn't know what to say. Yang did. "Sai, she's right. You did work the two of you into this position."

"Look, I wasn't trying to get you into trouble."

-"You even said that getting into trouble would be good for me!"

"I did, but this is not what I meant!"

She just turned away again. "Come on Yang, I don't want to get into any more trouble. Neither do you, _Avatar_ Sai."

They hadn't walked three steps, when Sai suddenly heard something move on the wall. "Wait, did you hear that?"

-"Sai, I'm not falling for your lame pickup lines." Juji sounded really annoyed by now.

"No, I'm serious, there's someone on the wall. Get back to the house, now."

They started to do so, but were immediately caught. Cuffed remotely by some sort of earth, Sai could feel it move. They also got some sort of gag over their mouths to stop the girls from screaming, but Sai was left unharmed. A couple of men in black uniforms jumped over the wall, and one of them stepped forward. "Avatar Sai! Come with us quietly, and we won't have to harm your friends."

Sai looked around. Six of these guys in black. With a little help, it should be doable. "Fuck you!" He grabbed the cuffs of the girls, at least the rocks they were made from, and shot them all back as bullets to the men who attacked them. "Juji, get behind me! Yang, back up!"

Yang blasted one of the men back at the wall, and Sai threw up cover for the both of them, Juji sheltering behind him. Yang yelled for Sozu at the top of her lungs, whose room they were not far away from. He joined them in the fight, shooting a quick succession of blasts at the earthbenders. Sai tried to keep the upper hand by quickly breaking down the rock in front of him into more bullets, but it wasn't working. One of the men managed to grab Juji by the clothes again, but before he could reel her back in, a bolt of lightning struck right in between them. It was Serizawa and the other students. They all started fighting the earthbenders, who suddenly also got reinforcements.

Rina and Noren created a wall of fire in front of them, giving them some cover, but they couldn't keep it up forever. Serizawa used this moment. "Children, get out of here, we'll hold them off!"

Sai knew what to do. "Smuggler, now! I'll get the keys, you get to the cliffs!"

They ran off in two different directions, Sai towards the wing of the house with the guest bedrooms, as he left the keys in his room. Sozu, Yang and Juji went through the house, he saw how Yang blew down the terrace doors, so they would end up underneath the guest bedrooms. Sai saw his own balcony doors were closed, so he threw a rock at them and broke them down. With a pillar, he launched himself onto the balcony, and he spotted the keys on his nightstand. He launched the table into the air, but because the keys were smaller, they flew further and he perfectly caught them. He broke down both the doors of his and Yang's rooms, and heard Yang yelling from below. "Sai, jump!"

He jumped off the edge of the balcony, and Yang caught him with an air disk. Running further into the garden, they noticed they were being followed by the earthbenders, so when they were close enough to the stairs, Sai drilled a tunnel through the ground, ending on the middle of the stairs down to the jetty. All down, the girls took the lead. Sai and Sozu decided to buy them a little time. Sozu blasted a massive fireball down the tunnel, and Sai then collapsed it behind them.

When they also got down, Yang had already blown the cover off the Smuggler, and Sozu made quick work of the mooring lines: one quick fireblade, and they were free. Sai fired her up, and gunned it. "Looks like we're in the clear for now," Sai said, but the words hadn't left his mouth, or they were suddenly in the spotlight. Literally.

Two helicopters had caught up to them. More earthbenders were standing in the door opening, and started bending earth disks at the Smuggler. Yang blew one away and Sozu shot the other one out of mid-air, but they wouldn't be able to hold all of them, so Sai jumped up again. "Juji, take the wheel!"

-"What? I don't know how to drive this thing!"

"Just keep her steady!"

Sai jumped to the stern, and caught one of the disks, hurling it back at the helicopter it came from. He missed, but between the three of them and the immense speed of the Smuggler, they started to pull out somewhat of a lead over the helicopters, but then something none of them saw coming happened: they hit a small wave. Given that Sai, Yang and Sozu were standing, they all lost balance for a moment, and right at that time, Sai got hit by a disk, sending him flying overboard.

Yang stared in horror as she watched Sai skip over the water a few times. He made a violent smack, finally coming to a halt, and he began to sink. "Turn this fucking tub around!" She shouted at Juji, while unleashing a massive blast forward, slowing them down significantly. The helicopters overshot them, but they began their turn around. Juji maneuvered back with surprising dexterity. Yang didn't see him, but they had another problem. The helicopters had turned around, and were making their approach quickly. Both she and Sozu jumped onto the bow of the Smuggler, and got ready to fend off more disks, when something unexpected happened.

About twenty feet in behind them, the water started moving. Without any warning, the surface broke, revealing Sai riding a massive waterspout. He looked at Yang, Sozu and Juji, and they saw how his eyes were glowing a brilliant white. He turned around to the helicopters, and shot a huge stream of fire at one, which plummeted into the sea immediately. Even though of he was far away from it, he launched an air slice at the other one, effectively separating the tail from the body, causing it to spiral out of control, and it crashed not too far from the other helicopter. Sai pulled his arms in, gently lowering the waterspout, before creating a sheet of ice, on which he collapsed.

The three in the Smuggler looked at each other on bewildered silence. Sozu eventually remarked: "We need to get him."

He took the wheel from Juji, and put them right alongside the sheet of ice. Yang jumped onto it, and got Sai, who was still unconscious. She got him back aboard the Smuggler, and they quickly made a run for it.

Sai woke up again half an hour later, and Sozu cut the engines so they could talk in peace.

-"Sai! That was... Amazing! You were on a giant waterspout, at least thirty feet in the air!" Yang couldn't really contain her enthusiasm. "How did you suddenly do that?"

Sai gave her a faint smile. "It was the right incentive."

Sozu climbed to the back as well. "Can you still do it?"

Sai closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He opened his fist, showing a small flame. He got a massive grin on his face.

Juji still had trouble taking it all in. "But how were you suddenly able to control water and air? You haven't practiced with those."

Sai shook his head. "I don't know. But it felt like I wasn't really in control of myself. I could see what I was doing, but I don't know how I did it."

The others looked surprised. They didn't really know what to say to that, so Yang pulled a box of cigarettes from her pocket, giving one to Sai. "Here. You earned it." She also gave one to Juji and took one herself, but Sozu still refused. He did light them for the others, even the one of his sister. Everyone stared out a little bit, before Sai threw the question out there that was going through everyone's head.

"So now what?"

-"We need a place to lay low. Just so we can figure out who these earthbenders are and what they want." Was Yang's theory.

Juji had her doubts. "But where could we go that's safe and close enough?"

Sozu was with the airbender. "Yang is right. We can't go back to Ember Island. Not just yet, anyway."

"Republic City. Sai and I know that place very well, we lived on the streets there for five years. Plus, we've been going mostly east when we were trying to get away from those earthbenders. We can blend in there."

Sai disagreed. "We can, but so can they. And there is one other thing that worries me. Nobody knew who I am."

Yang was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Outside of us, and your parents" as he gestured to Sozu and Juji, "the only people who know that I'm the Avatar _and_ where I was, are just the Fire Sages in the temple I went to with Sozu, and a few people in the Republic City Police. That's probably where the leak is."

"He's right. On the street, we're vulnerable." Juji thought for a while. "We could go to Air Temple Island."

Yang rudely interrupted her. "No fucking way. I am _not_ going there."

Sai tried to calm her down. "Yang, I know you have a grudge against that place, and I don't blame you, but let's just hear what Juji has to say."

She crossed her arms, not the least bit impressed by Sai's words, but she did look at Juji again.

"The matriarch of the Air Temple is a good person. Sozu, we met her at Fire Lord Kazuo's coronation."

-"Do you really think she'll still remember that? That she'll be all like "Oh yeah, I met you two five years ago, you can totally hide here, a continent away from your home and far away from killer earthbenders!" I don't think so."

"Maybe not, but we are with the Avatar. Most airbenders would be on our side when they hear that."

Sai thought for a moment. "You're probably right. They can also help us get a message back to Ember Island. We need to let your parents know we are safe."

Sozu took charge. "Do we agree on Air Temple Island?"

Sai and Juji nodded, and Yang reluctantly sighed before finally giving in. "Fine."

Sozu took the wheel of the Smuggler again, and set course for the United Republic.


	14. Air Temple Island

They were making good progress. Sai hoped they could make it to Republic City before daybreak, as the Smuggler really stands out. Then again, a speedboat like this, they might be confused for actual smugglers. He had taken over the wheel from Sozu, allowing the other to try and catch some sleep. A glance at the dashboard told him it was four in the morning. A little while later, Juji woke up. She took the seat next to him, which was realistically too small for the two of them. He appreciated the contact. Huddling close together on the open speedboat wasn't really optional, since they came from a tropical island, and were dressed appropriately. Now they were closing on the United Republic, which was quite a bit colder.

But that wasn't the reason she cuddled up to him again. He just knew it.

-"Sai? I'm sorry."

"About what?"

-"Everything. Shutting you out and stuff. It's just... You were right all along. What I needed _was_ a good kick in the rear. I'm totally unprepared for everything ahead."

"That's why we're all here until we can figure out a decent plan."

-"Can we try it again? Us, I mean?"

"Of course we can. Come here." He pulled her in tight with one arm, forced to keep the other hand on the wheel. She put her arms around him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. It was one of the most comfortable feelings he had ever felt. Then, he saw the city's glow slowly dooming up in front of them.

"Guys, wake up, we're here!"

Yang and Sozu woke up. He had never seen the city from this angle. It was gorgeous. Republic City never really stopped moving. All of the lights seemed to be on, it was that bright. They gazed upon the Statue of Aang, and Sai turned his attention to docking at Air Temple Island. Taking back throttle, he gently slid the boat next to the dock, only to discover they had only one mooring line left that was long enough. It was a makeshift fix, but it would hold.

The foursome made their way up to the Temple, where they were stopped by someone in a uniform of the White Lotus.

-"What are you doing here?"

Sai took the lead. "I'm the Avatar. We came here because we desperately need the help of Master Beifong."

He looked at them, carefully observing the kids. The clothes which were _way_ too thin to be here, must have given him the final push because he invited them inside and gave them a cup of tea, while he would get the matriarch of the Air Temple. She eventually came out to meet them. She was a lady in her late fifties, her hair already going gray. She was clad in a bathrobe, and her expression told them she wasn't too pleased with being woken at five in the morning to deal with other peoples' problems.

They all got up and bowed to the tattooed master, and Sai, once again, decided to open. "Master Beifong, we are sorry for disturbing you at this hour, but we have nowhere else we can go."

She seemed to lighten up a little bit. "The White Lotus told me you are the new Avatar. Is this true?"

Sai decided the best to convince her, was to show her, so he looked around for something made of stone, and he found a statue of a man in the corner, and moved it a few inches. He gently put if down again, before making a little flame in his hand again.

She gave it an approving nod, and he killed the flame again. "Alright Avatar, you have my attention. Could you tell me your names and what it is you need?"

"I am Sai, and these are Yang, Sozu and Juji. We came from Ember Island. I have been training in firebending, but we were ambushed by earthbenders. We were forced to run in our speedboat, and we were hoping you would give us shelter of sorts."

She got a worried look on her face. "Earthbenders? What kind of earthbenders?"

"Don't know who they are, but they were good." Juji nodded. "Well-informed and well-equipped." She added. Yang and Sozu nodded in agreement.

-"And you are sure you weren't followed here?"

"No we're not. That's why we weren't planning on staying here. We were hoping you could help us with that. We need transportation, clothes, and we need to get a message out."

-"That can be arranged. But first, you all look like you desperately need some sleep."

Even though they had about a million things to discuss, Sai knew she was right. With a bit of sleep, they could probably make a more informed decision than they could now. Beifong led them to a couple of bedrooms, and they all got into a bed for a few hours of sleep.

It wouldn't be much. Four hours later, on the dot on nine o'clock, they were all woken up again by an air horn. They all stepped outside, to find Beifong there, holding a newspaper. "You four are in a world of trouble."

She handed the newspaper to Sai. The headline read _Dai Li resurfaces, attacks Ember Island nobles. Children missing!_.

-"Are you nobles?"

"They are, we're not," Sai said, as he gestured to his friends at the appropriate times. "Yang and I grew up on the streets of Republic City. But what's the Dai Li?"

-"The Dai Li was the elite fighting force of the Earth Kingdom. They found wreckage of two helicopters floating in the Mo Ce Sea, not too far from Ember Island. Did you do that?"

"Yeah, I kind of did. I got a rush of power over me, and suddenly I was able to control all four elements. It felt like child's play cutting them down, even though I wasn't in control of myself."

-"Well, so much for your escape. The Dai Li are the best in the world. If they could track you there, they won't have any problems finding you here. You need to leave as soon as possible. I'll tell the airbenders to prepare a sky bison, you can go to the Southern Air Temple."

"Why there?"

-"The Southern Air Temple is one of the most remote buildings in the world. It's unreachable from the ground and only those who know where it is can find it. It is also under protection of the eldest granddaughter of one of your predecessors, Avatar Aang. She'll welcome you with open arms."

"Wait. There's one more decision to make." Sai turned to his friends. "They came for me. If You go with me, you'll all be at risk. I don't want that. Yang, you can stay here, Sozu and Juji, I think it's best if you go back to Ember Island."

Yang objected. "I'm not staying here. You know how much I hate this place. Plus, I've been covering your ass for five years, and I'm not about to let you go out into the world on your own. You wouldn't make it a day without me."

Juji joined Yang. "You two find a hidden temple? You couldn't even find the bathroom without me. I'm coming with you."

She was back up by her brother. "I'm not letting my little sister go out being chased by the Dai Li. And you only know textbook firebending, you need a teacher. Come hell or high water, we're going with you kid."

It brought a tear to Sai's eye. "You guys are the best." He turned to Beifong again. "There's two more things. If we go out dressed like this, we'll be spotted in no-time. We need some new clothes. That, and we need to get a message to Ember Island. Let their parents know we safely made it here."

Beifong thought for a moment. "You can get wingsuits from us. They aren't very useful to you, but they will make you blend in among the other airbenders. As for that message, I can send my daughter per sky bison with a letter. That way, nobody can intercept it."

Sai nodded approvingly, and Beifong led them into a walk in closet with the characteristic airbender wingsuits hanging in all shapes and sizes. They each got handed one of the appropriate size, and once they had slipped in, Beifong took them outside to the bison pens. Sai got a little nervous when he saw just how big the animals were. He knew they were big, but this close, they were freakin' _huge_.

-"This is Maya. She's an easy one to handle, and she knows the way to the Southern Air Temple. When you reach the Patola Mountain Range, she will fly you straight there." Beifong handed Juji a map. "Just fly to the marked town in the Air Nation. You should be able to get there in about a week."

Sai smiled. "Thank you master, for all your help." They all bowed, and she bowed back. "Good luck, Avatar Sai. You're going to need it."

They all mounted Maya, and Yang took the reins on instructions of Beifong, telling her it would be best for an airbender to make the initial connection. She jumped off, and Yang gave her a small nudge. "Come on Maya, let's fly!" Nothing happened. She looked at Beifong. "Umm, how do I..."

She was interrupted. "Maya, yip-yip!"

The bison growled, and with a move of her tail, she soared into the sky, much to the excitement of the four children.

They made good progress in the direction of the Southern Air Temple, but by the time evening fell, they were forced to land. They inspected the stuff they had brought along from Air Temple Island. It turned out to be a tent, and a few blankets. Not much, but enough to get them through the night. They still needed food and, though. Given that they weren't even out of the United Republic, Sozu and Yang decided it would be safest if they would go to buy some food in a town nearby. Sai and Juji would stay behind and set up camp.

The couple made easy work of the tent, and went out for some firewood. Sai couldn't help but see the irony of the situation. "Funny, don't you think?"

Juji didn't get it. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, first I have to adapt to your lifestyle, now you have to get used to mine."

-"I guess I do." She didn't see the humor of the situation like he did. "Now could you give us some light? I can't see a bloody inch."

"I'll make some sort of torch. Don't wanna risk exposure."

He did just that, and it did make the search easier. Soon, they returned to their camp with plenty of wood, but it was getting very cold. Sai quickly got the fire going with a quick blast, and he cuddled up to Juji and wrapped them both in a blanket. Juji didn't seem to be able to relax, though. "How are we going to stay ahead of the Dai Li? Those guys are good, from what I know."

"What do you know about them? I get a feeling you know more than Beifong told us."

-"Well, everything I know about them I learned in history class. The first agents were trained by Avatar Kyoshi herself, and they were the guardians of the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. During the Hundred Year War, they became corrupted though, and even switched sides to the Fire Nation. After the War, they regained some of their power, but now they were limited by the Earth King's commands, and after the fall of the Earth Queen, they seemingly vanished from the face of the earth. Nobody knows where they went, and they were thought to be extinct. Clearly, everyone was wrong."

Sai was deeply impressed. "Wow. That you remembered it all, I..."

Juji interrupted him. "I told you, the division in my family is quite fair."

"That you did."

-"Plus, unlike Sozu, I actually spent my time in class on useful stuff, opposed to seeing who could make the biggest fireball."

Sai smiled. "Does that mean he's actually good at what he does?"

-"Well, he typically came out on top, but I don't know how good a teacher he is. That, we'll just have to find out as we go along."

"He fuckin' better be, otherwise _I_ got a big problem. The world does."

Juji smiled. For some reason, it always worked on her laughing muscles when he swore. "I don't suppose you have any cigarettes on you?"

"Nah, lost them when I fell into the sea. And they're not exactly essential, so I don't think Yang and Sozu will be thinking about buying some."

-"Seem like now is a good a time as any to stop."

Right on cue, Yang and Sozu cam bursting out of the woods. Sozu was carrying a backpack of sorts, and it looked heavy. He threw it in front of Sai and Juji with a gesture that told Sai he wasn't very fond of it. Juji raised an eyebrow, and turned to Yang. "What is this?"

She opened it, and found various kinds of food inside, as well as, rather surprisingly, a pack of cigarettes, two wallets which looked used and a folding umbrella. "Did you pay for any of this stuff?"

-"Desperate times, princess." was Yang's bland response. Juji looked over to Sai, but he agreed with Yang.

"We have enough things to worry about without having to think about how we are going to live until we get to the Southern Air Temple. Yang and I have the skills for this, let us worry about this. In two days' time, we'll be in the Earth Federation and no one will ever wonder what we've done."

Juji gave him a disapproving look, and sought aid from her brother, but found none. "Look, sis, I don't like it either, but we need something, anything to help us get by."

-"And that justifies us stealing?"

"Well, unless you took your dad's checkbook with you when we fled Ember Island, yes, yes it does." Yang didn't like Juji's attitude. "We just risked getting caught pickpocketing, you could stand to be a little more grateful than you are being, princess."

-"I'm just saying, we don't want to attract any unnecessary attention, with a some ancient organization of killers hunting us down."

Sai had just about had enough of it. "Ladies! Calm down, both of you. Yang, you need to take Juji seriously on this one, but Juji, Yang has a point, we need to eat something as well."

Yang was starting to get angry. "You're taking her side on this?"

Sai stood up. "I'm not taking any sides, I'm just saying that if we already start falling apart after one, day, we won't even make it across the border, let alone across the world. Just let it drop, and _eat_."

"_Fine_." Neither girl seemed pleased with his little call to reason, but they did listen and sat down, Juji rummaging through the bag to spread out all the food. They settled on eating the perishables first, saving the canned stuff for later.

After eating in silence, they quickly went to bed. Sai and Sozu made sure to keep the girls at far ends of the tent, minimizing the risk of another argument in the middle of the night. Hopefully a good night sleep would clear the air a little.


	15. The Xianjing Mountains

The next morning, the hostility hadn't yet cleared. They quietly prepared to fly again, with Yang and Sai going off to get some water from a nearby stream, while the siblings packed up camp.

Sai was determined to lighten the mood a little bit. "Yang, I know Juji seems ungrateful, but try to put yourself in her mind. It's a totally new world for her. And Sozu, for that matter."

She sighed. "Maybe, but that doesn't give her the right to be a complete bitch either. I'm trying to help us all here. Do you know how hard it was to get Sozu to help me yesterday?"

"Very, I'm sure. But for us, 'desperate times call for desperate measures' has been the way of life for years. I think they simply need some time to get used to that."

-"Fine. You talk some sense into her, I'll just keep my distance until then." They had arrived at a creek. The water was clear and flowed fast, so they decided this would be a good a place as any to fill up the jerry cans they brought.

By the time they got back, most of the gear had been packed. Only the tent, which was surprisingly heavy, still had to be loaded onto Maya. Sai and Sozu strategically positioned themselves on Maya's back, and Yang blasted it up, while the boys caught it perfectly.

All loaded up again, they took off, trying to get across the border with the United Republic today, even though that was a slim chance. Yang was flying again, Sai and Juji were sitting at the back, leaning against the blankets and the tent. Sozu was at the front of the saddle facing back, keeping a close eye on his sister, making sure Sai wasn't making himself _too_ comfortable with her. It was precisely what Sai needed to get rid of, if he wanted to get through to Juji.

"Sozu, could you give us a minute?"

-"No way. I've seen how you two are smooching all the time, you're not gonna do that within earshot of me."

"I just wanna talk in private for a minute, okay?"

Sozu looked over to his sister, and she gave him a look which told him to sod off, essentially. He rolled his eyes, and climbed over the saddle and sat next to Yang.

Juji beat Sai to it. "You really feel the need to play peacekeeper here, don't you?"

"It's kind of my job, I need the practice. And neither of you wants to rip my head off, which makes it a lot easier."

Juji laughed. "Alright Great Peacekeeper, what is it you have to say?"

"Remember our first night on the cliff, when I told how I ended up on the street?"

-"Of course I do. First cigarette, your life story, yeah, I remember."

"I just... You were so understanding of everything. Even when I said that stealing my living together didn't really keep me awake at night."

-"Well, you know, you had your reasons. Doesn't mean I approve, but still."

"We're at dealing with the same issue here, Juji. You want to hold on to your morals, and I respect that, but we also need to be realistic."

-"I get that, but I just... I hoped I could change you. You know, stop you from being a street rat and instead make the world see you as the Avatar. You two are falling back into old habits really fast."

"And you're holding on to them very hard." Juji hung her head slightly at the realization that he was right. Sai continued. "I stand by what I said. A clean conscience is a luxury, and not one we can afford right now."

-"Okay." The response was hesitant, but still what Sai was hoping for. "But only so long as it is absolutely necessary, alright?"

He smiled. "Of course. Look, if we keep this up, we'll be at the Southern Air Temple within the week and then we don't have to worry about this anymore. So you just go and make your peace with Yang, you owe her that."

-"I guess I do." She made her way to Maya's head, and switched places with Sozu, who sat down next to Sai. He looked impressed.

-"How do you do that?"

"What?"

-"Get her to snap out of it. I tried that for fourteen years and almost never succeeded."

"It's a gift. That, or it's because Yang can hold quite the grudge and I had to learn how to break through that. Compared to her, Juji can be blown over by a stiff breeze."

Sozu just smiled at his remark and they sat in silence for a while, when Yang's voice rudely interrupted the peace. "Guys! You need to come and have a look at this!"

They stumbled to the front of the saddle and what they saw was absolutely beautiful. Hundreds of feet below them was the ground, a single highway snaking through the landscape was the only thing there. There was a small town up ahead, but from where they were, they could easily see over it. It gave them a gorgeous view of the river, behind which was a mountain range that seemed to stretch on forever.

-"Those are the Xianjing Mountains," Juji explained. "That is the last land of the United Republic before we enter the Earth Federation."

"Looks to me like a good place to set up camp for the night. I suggest we start a little earlier than we did yesterday, I don't want to go out there again in the dark." Sozu had obviously become a bit nervous from the whole thing.

-"Don't worry, the further south we get, the longer he light stays. But for now, he's right, we need to start setting up camp if we want to do it with daylight." was Juji's theory. She was obviously with her brother, and Sai wasn't all that surprised.

They kept flying for a while over the mountains, until the sun got noticeably lower, and they started to look around for a campsite.

"Alright. Yang, see a nice spot to put us down?"

-"Right there, next to that cliff."

The spot where Yang was pointing was a nice flat area, with a sheer 100 foot cliff right behind it, giving them plenty of shelter.

She put Maya down next to the cliff, and they started unpacking. Sai and Sozu went to collect firewood, while the girls would see what they could make of their camp. When they came back, both with arms full of dead wood, the tent had been built, and they had created something of a fireplace by making a ring of rocks.

Sai couldn't help himself. "Well, looks like home to me."

Yang was prepared for such comments from his end. "Yeah, it ain't much, but it'll do the trick. Want to get that fire going?" as she threw him a lighter.

"Are you kidding me? Two people here who can shoot fire out of their fingertips and you want to make me waste time with a lighter?" Sai dumped some twigs in the fireplace, and quickly spied over his shoulder to make sure there wasn't anyone there, before carelessly launching a small blast of fire at them, setting them alight.

Yang didn't look too pleased. "You know, you could stand to be a little more careful. You don't need to show off for us."

"Who is there to be careful of? We're out in the middle of nowhere. Juji, back me up!"

She looked a bit guilty. "I'm actually with Yang on this one. I'd keep it to a minimum if I were you."

He sighed. "Alright, I give up. No more bending."

Yang tried to comfort him. "Well, you are an airbender, I could give you a lesson. I want to know if I can actually fly with this wingsuit. Aren't you curious?"

"Well... Yeah... Kind of, I mean, what if I can't make it work? Then I'll fall to the ground like a brick."

Yang casually brushed this off. "Occupational hazard. Plus, we'll practice tomorrow, on from Maya. We can still catch you, even if you can't fly."

"Okay, sounds like a deal. But for now, let's eat. All this talk of practicing stuff is making me hungry."

They set to work with the food they had brought with them, and Sai estimated they would have to have enough for tomorrow, but the day after would force them on another raid. Not something to worry about just yet, though. They settled on a large tin of soup, and then realized they didn't have any spoons.

"Guess we're drinking then." was Sozu's only idea. Straight from the can was a risk, but they all made it without carving a permanent smile on their faces.

Huddled around the fire like this, all close together because it was freezing cold, the hostility out of the air, it really felt great. They all felt at ease, and if it hadn't been for the cold, they could have fallen asleep right there.

Sai, who was sitting on the edge, did. But not as he wanted to.

He suddenly fell down. Juji let out a scream, and Sozu shot up straight. "Get behind me!"

Yang and Juji ducked for cover while he breathed in, shooting a massive stream of fire at the tree line, setting most of them on fire. One of them fell down, toppled by an earthbender, revealing three vans. Two of them skidded sideways and the doors on the sides opened, revealing three earthbenders each.

Yang charged herself by spinning counter clockwise around her own axis, and blasted one of the vans straight back through the tree line. She heard the satisfying sound of metal bending against wood as the van disappeared from their sight.

Juji pulled Sai behind them, which was difficult since he was paralyzed. Two earthbenders launched a fissure at Yang, but she used it to launch herself at them, tumbling through the air, causing them to miss with the rock gloves they shot at her. She landed perfectly between her attackers, and stretched her horizontally, balancing on one foot, blasting both her attackers away.

Sozu was successfully holding off an earthbender, using Sai's advice in battle. The fire bomb proved to be his best defensive asset, using it several times to shatter and deflect incoming rocks. He managed to land a solid hit on one of the benders he was dueling with, putting him out of action. The other one was nimbler, more difficult to hit. But Sozu kept him busy, leaving him unable to line up for a good shot.

Juji suddenly got a bright idea. "Maya, yip yip!" and she pointed to one of the vans. The sky bison got the hint, and circled around once to build up momentum, and crashed into one of the vans, making in an instant total-loss. The driver of the van was quick, however. He had gotten out and launched a couple of darts at Maya, and she was unable to get back up.

Yang was distracted by the whole spectacle going on right behind her. In the second she was off guard, one of the earthbenders took full advantage and launched his rock gloves at her, and managed to pin her against the cliff.

Sozu saw the whole thing happen, and laid out a pool of fire in front of him, hoping to keep his earlier opponent at bay long enough to help Yang. He turned around to see in how big a mess she was, and was subsequently captured himself.

Unable to defend herself without any bending, Juji was forced against the wall as well, and they were all tied with their hands above their head, unable to move. They all took one of the darts to the chest, paralyzing them as well.

When Sai woke up again, he realized his hands were cuffed behind his back, and his feet were cuffed together as well. He was sitting on an agonizingly uncomfortable bench, and judging by the way the box he was in was shaking, it was the back of a van.

There were two men in the black commando outfits sitting in front of him. One of them turned around. "Ah, look, he's back in the land of the living."

"Who are you?! What did you to me and where are my friends?!"

-"Avatar Sai, you would be wise to stay a little calmer around me. I have your friends, and they are safe, so long as you cooperate."

Sai's face grew angry. "Where. Are they."

-"Alright, since you insist, they are precisely where you left them last night. I'll give your little group this, they put up one hell of a fight, even without you. Two of my agents are there to make sure they don't die. Happy now?"

"Not really. Who are you and what do you want with me?"

-"A bit of a long story, but what I want is something different than what my boss wants. I am Captain Lee, commander of the Dai Li, best earthbenders in the world."

"Yeah, yeah, I figured that out. What does that first bit mean?"

-"Means that I have orders and I disagree with them, but what are you going to do. What we are going to do with you, is simple. We need you out of the way, and that is much easier if we have you in custody."

"Fuck you. You can't keep me locked up."

-"Oh, but we can. I'll show you."

He got a grin on his face that told Sai he meant business.


	16. The Rescue

When Yang came back around, dawn was just breaking. Juji was already awake, and was fighting her chains, and Yang was starting to feel them as well. There was an agonizing sting in her shoulders, probably from being hung up by them for so long.

Sozu was the last to wake up. At first he fought his chains, but realized it wasn't going to work like this.

Juji was in the middle, with Yang on her left and Sozu on her right. She saw her brother coming back around, and looked over to him. He gave her a look and a nod, suggesting he had a plan.

A quick look around gave Yang a good idea of the extent of the damage the had done last night. Their tent had been burned, that was a shame. The tree line was burned quite badly, and there were two wrecked cars in them. All of the Dai Li agents were gone, save for two, probably to keep an eye on them.

Juji turned to Yang, and whispered: "Get ready." She then shouted at the agents. "Hey you two!"

They slowly turned around, indicating they weren't too pleased. That thought was confirmed by the tone he struck. "What?"

She put on the cutest puppy-dog face she could muster up. "I just can't reach the ground and my arms are killing me. Could you lower me just a few inches?"

The agents turned around again, but Yang could make out shards of the conversation.

"She isn't a bender anyway."

"Boss would kill us."

One of them stood up, and walked over to them and Sozu took a deep breath. Just as the agent was moving Juji's hands, suddenly a burst of fire freed Sozu's hands, distracting the agent from what he was doing. Juji took full advantage of the situation, and smacked the guy on his head with the rocks still covering her hands, knocking him out cold. Sozu rolled forward, launching a single precision blast at Yang's hands, breaking her cuffs as well.

The other agent lunged after him, launching a rock his way, but Sozu deflected it. Yang blasted herself off, landing behind the agent. He turned around shocked, but it was too late: She blew him against the wall, and he joined his associate.

"Morons." Yang smiled at Juji's remark.

Sozu snapped them back to the situation at hand. "Everyone okay?"

The girls both nodded. "Good, then we need to figure out a plan rescue Sai. We don't know how long we have been out, but they came by car in this terrain, they can't have gotten too far."

Yang nodded again. "You're right. But there is still no way that we can catch up to them on foot, and Maya is still out of it."

The siblings looked over the bison, still fast asleep. "Gives us time to work out something of a plan. We need to tie these jokers up, make sure they can't get in our way." He went to the closest wreck, and found a length of rope inside. "Anyone know a few good knots?"

Yang smiled. "How hard can that be. Put them against each other, come on."

She was surprisingly skilled with the rope, tying them up against each other, giving them all the time on the world.

Juji had thought, and carefully spoke. "Alright, we are still in the United Republic, strictly spoken. They'll want to get back into the Earth Federation as fast as they can. They're already under pressure because they invaded Ember Island, they don't need another incident by getting it out there that they invaded the United Republic as well." She walked onto Maya's back, and grabbed a map. She pointed to where they roughly were, in the middle of the mountains. "We're in this area here. Means that the quickest way to the Federation is east. When Maya wakes up, I say we fly in that direction, see what we can find. All in favor?"

Yang and Sozu shot each other a bewildered look and nodded. "Guess so." was her brothers response.

-"Alright, and what if we find them?"

"Knock 'em the fuck out. There's only one van load, and if we can free Sai, it'll be child's play taking them out."

Sozu objected. "But what if we can't free him so easily? Then it'll be very difficult, even with the element of surprise on our side _and_ they'll have leverage over us."

"Alright, how's this: Juji pulls them over, distracting the driver, I knock him out, and Sozu, you get ready to pick off the stragglers."

Juji wasn't convinced. "There is a hole in that plan: they know what we look like. They'll get suspicious when they see these wingsuits."

"We cut your hair and put you change into you school uniform again, we took our clothes with us from Air Temple Island, remember? You put on your cutest face and puppy-dog eyes, and I'm pretty sure they'll stop for you."

Yang looked pretty pleased with her plan, and Juji looked over to Sozu, who slowly nodded, indicating he was with the airbender.

-"Okay, let's get dressed then."

* * *

><p>Sai still wasn't pleased with the answers he was getting. "Alright, you know who I am, but how did you find me here, and on Ember Island?"<p>

Captain Lee smiled. "A good magician never reveals his secrets, but let me assure you that I have ears everywhere. I was impressed with your escape from Ember Island, I'll give you that. Outrunning two helicopters, no small feat for four children."

"You'd be surprised at what we can do when you push us."

-"I was, but now we know that as well, and we came prepared. You smashed most of our equipment last night, and my men were forced to walk back."

"That's what we do. They're probably on their way here, and you wouldn't stand a chance, given what we did to you last night. Best earthbenders in the world? You guys have good sources, I'll give you that, but you wouldn't be able to jack shit in a fair fight."

-"Maybe, but between the two of us, I'm not the one in handcuffs."

"We'll see about that." Sai leaned back, and closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>-"You're going to enjoy this, aren't you?"<p>

"Of course I am, don't you know me at all?"

Yang was holding Juji's hair in a bundle behind her head. With the lack of a proper knife, Yang resorted to an air slice to cut the Serizawa's hair. It came to rest above her shoulders.

"That ought to do it. What do you think?" She turned Juji to the mirror of one of the smashed vans.

-"Well, at least it's even. Could be worse, I guess."

"It'll grow on you, no pun intended."

Sozu brought the lightened mood down a little. "Okay ladies, this was all the easy part. The hard part will be finding them. If we're lucky, they aren't out of the mountains yet."

Right on cue, Maya was coming back around with a loud groan.

"Finally! Alright, load everything up, we're leaving."

They did just that, loaded everything they had salvaged onto the bison, and took off. Sozu had taken the reins this time, as Yang would carry Juji down if they spotted the van.

They flew east for about an hour, when they spotted a dust cloud on the ground. It was moving slow, about the speed a not very fast car would.

"Keep Maya up here for a while. I'm gonna take a closer look, and I'll come back for Juji if it's them." Yang hooked up the wings of her wingsuit and prepared to jump off the flying beast.

Sozu objected. "Yang, no. You just said you have no clue how to fly with those."

"Good a time as any to learn, wouldn't you say? Maya is too big, she'll be spotted as soon as we get close. I can get close enough to them without being seen. Trust me. This is what I'm good at." She gave them a wink, and let herself fall backwards, her arms tight alongside her chest. When she got lower, she unfolded the wings, and her momentum shifted forward. She was still quite a lot higher than the van they were following, but she did get a good look at it. Unmistakably a van just like the two they wrecked back at the camp, it had to be the one that got away.

Airbending in the suit, with the wings carrying her weight, was awkward at first, but Yang quickly got the hang of it, and moved back up to the bison, a few hundred feet behind and above her. When she landed, the siblings stared at her with eager eyes.

"It's them alright. Sozu, get us ahead of them. We'll need a bit of a lead, if we want to set up a good ambush."

-"You got it."

Maya pulled forward, and the few clouds provided them with some cover. When Yang decided they were ahead of the van far enough, she pulled Juji on her feet.

"You ready for this?"

-"No!"

"Just hold on tight, princess." Juji nearly crushed Yang's ribcage, and they jumped off. If it hadn't been for the roar of the air rushing by, the airbender surely would have become deaf from Juji's screams. Nearly on the ground, Yang covered Juji's mouth with her free hand, and used her other hand and her feet to create a spout, allowing her to lower them gently onto the ground.

-"Are we on... the ground?"

"Yes we are, princess, you can let go."

Juji let Yang go, and opened her eyes again. "That was _the_ most unpleasant thing I have ever done in my life. Don't you _ever_ make me do anything like that again."

"I won't promise anything, but right now, we need to focus on the job at hand. Come on, the road is on the other side of that hill."

They scaled the hill, and saw the dirt road below them. On the other side was a steep ridge, the perfect place for an ambush.

"Alright, you wait at the bottom for Sai, I'll wait on that ridge and take them out when you distract them. Got it?"

-"Got it."

Juji gingerly walked down, and Yang blasted her way up the ridge. They were right on time: not two minutes later, the van approached. She walked in its direction, frantically waving her arms. The driver stopped, and rolled down his window.

Juji put on her saddest and cutest face, just like Yang said. "Sir, could you please help me? I've lost my parents and I don't know where I can go."

He looked a little suspicious, but before he could say anything, Yang swooped in, grabbed the top edge of the van, and blasted both men in the front seats right through the passenger door. She pulled the keys from the ignition, which had two others hanging on it. One was undoubtedly for handcuffs, the other she had no idea, until the girls walked around the back of the vehicle.

There was a big padlock, holding the doors shut tight. Clever. Even an all-powerful Avatar would have trouble breaking through this.

"Juji, get the lock off, and open the door on my mark. Three, two one, _now_!"

* * *

><p>Sai felt the van come to a halt. Seemed to be very fast, he couldn't see anything but mountains when they landed. "Must be some underground bunker." he thought.<p>

Captain Lee didn't seem too pleased with this, and he scolded at his subordinate. "Lieutenant, was there anything planned along the way?"

"No sir, not that I know..."

But he was interrupted when they heard a muffled girls' voice. A brief silence ensued, followed by a couple of dull thuds, the unmistakable sounds of fighting.

Captain Lee stood up, and his lieutenant did the same. They stood in front of Sai, to make sure he had no chance of escape.

Someone was fiddling with the lock on the outside of the van, and suddenly, the doors swung open.

It took Yang a millisecond to see the two agents inside, and she quickly shot a punch his way, knocking him in the back corner. She wanted to launch another attack, but took a hit to the chest instead.

Sai saw it all happening. He was momentarily blinded by the sudden light, but regained his vision properly when he saw how the lieutenant was blasted into the corner beside him. He heard Yang swear, and before Lee could get another shot off, Sai quickly took a deep breath, and shot a stream of fire from his feet, blasting Captain Lee out of the van. Juji jumped into the back of the van, and undid his cuffs.

"Thank you." he quickly panted, as he jumped outside. He smashed the ground, sending a fissure in Lee's direction, who rolled out of the way.

Yang had also recovered, and launched a few more air punches his way. One of them hit the agent, and knocked him down. Sai quickly put him in an earth prison, and walked up to the captain, while keeping the tension on it.

"I warned you Captain. I told you they were coming, but you underestimated us and paid the price. Think on that while you figure a way out of here."

With one quick motion, he catapulted the Captain Lee back into the van, and locked the doors again, with the padlock.

Sai turned to the girls with a big smile on his face. "You did it! I knew you wouldn't leave me! Come here you!" He pulled them both in for a tight hug.

-"Of course we came back. That's why I went with you in the first place. I told you you wouldn't make it a week without me." Yang couldn't help the smug self-satisfaction.

His face turned a little worried. "Where's Sozu?"

Juji was quick to calm him down. "Don't worry, he's still on Maya. We need to find a way to flag him down, and get going again."

"What did you do with your hair?"

-"_That_ was _her_ idea. She said it absolutely had to be done in order to fool them."

Yang protested. "Hey, it worked, didn't it? Anyway, I'll fly up and see if I can find Sozu, don't go too far." She took a quick run up, and took off with her wingsuit.

Sai and Juji stared after her.

The Avatar was surprised. "I didn't even know she could do that."

-"Neither did we. But then again, she is a quick learner."

"That she is." He smiled. "By the way, I think the new haircut looks great."

-"Ugh, don't remind me. It'll take me a year to get it back to a good length."

"I don't think you quite get it: it looks _sexy_ like you wouldn't believe."

Her face went cherry red. "R-Really?"

Sai got a sly smile on his face. "Really. Come here you." He pulled her in close again, and gave her a good kiss. At first she was surprised, but after the shock wore off, she gave into him fully. They held each other like that for a good while, enjoying the moment and each other, when they slowly separated. "I've been wanting to do that for a while now." Sai said, smile returning on his face.

Juji kept her eyes shut and her mouth open, letting it all sink in. Then, a massive grin appeared. "You too, huh?"

"Come on, we've got something to check." Sai walked over to the van, and checked the glove box. "Aha! I knew it!" as he triumphantly pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches. Before he could light one, Juji pointed to the two agents Yang blasted out of the van.

"Do you think we should tie them up? I still have these." as she held up the handcuffs the Dai Li used to restrain Sai.

"Alright, put 'em next to the front wheel." They dragged them there, and cuffed their hands around the shock absorber, to make sure they couldn't go anywhere.

"Now let's light one up. It's been ages."

Juji nodded, and they sat down by the side of the road, enjoying the nicotine racing through her, while letting her head rest on Sai's shoulder again. It just couldn't get any better than this.

Sai lost track of how long they were sitting there, but he was pulled back into reality when he heard Maya approach. Sozu put her down next to the van, and jumped off. "Sai! Juji! Are you two alright?"

"We're fine, Sozu, thanks. Quick, help me total this van, then we can be on our way again."

-"What about the guys tied to it?"

"Fuck 'em. They tried to kidnap me, they can wait for someone to rescue them."

Sozu agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and Sai and he shot a small but hot stream of fire at the engine block, melting it shut in various places. That thing wouldn't be going anywhere.

They all climbed onto Maya again, and took off with one mighty swing of her tail, traveling into the Earth Federation.


	17. Sanctuary

After Sai was rescued from the Dai Li, they decided it would be better to hide in plain sight. On the way, they stopped in Omashu, Zaofu, and Whaletail Island. That was their final stop, before they laid eyes on the Patola Mountain Range.

Just like Beifong said, Maya knew the way. The first sight of the Southern Air Temple was amazing. The white towers and blue spires of the building rose just above the clouds in a late afternoon sun, bathing the building in orange light.

Juji smiled. "You know Sai, I'm kind of jealous of you."

"What do you mean?"

"You can just go to all these amazing places, and get training from the greatest masters of the arts."

Sai gave her a suspicious look. "And who is it this time around?"

-"I'm not sure which one, but it's one of the original line of airbenders, the descendants of Avatar Aang. They are the true airbending masters."

"Well, lucky me."

They landed on a small courtyard, at the base of the temple. A tattooed woman in her mid-forties came walking out to greet them. "Welcome, Avatar."

Sai was surprised. "Wait, does the entire world just _know_ who I am?"

She smiled. "No, not everyone knows. My name is Jinora. We were friends in your previous life. I've always had a particular affinity with the spirits, and you carry something of her."

"Are you the granddaughter of Avatar Aang?"

-"Yes I am."

"Great. Means we've stumbled across the right person. Nice to meet you, Master Jinora."

-"Likewise. Shall we go inside, we have some matters to discuss. The Air Acolytes will help your friends to their rooms."

Sai immediately objected. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can tell them as well. Either that, or I tell them."

Jinora eyed the lot up, and saw the determination on Sai's face. "Okay then. Follow me."

She preceded them into something that had a closer resemblance to a lounge than an office, with low couches and matching tables, and sat them down. They briefly introduced themselves, and an Acolyte soon arrived with a tray of tea. After making sure everyone had a cup, Jinora finally came to the point.

-"I am worried, Sai. I received a message yesterday from Opal Beifong at Air Temple Island. She signed a treaty in which the neutrality of the Air Nation and its sovereign lands are being guaranteed by the United Republic."

"What does that mean?"

-"Means that if the Earth Federation makes a move on anything related to the Air Nation, the Republic will take that as a declaration of war."

"That ain't good."

-"Maybe it is." Juji was the one who spoke out. "Think about it. Tensions have been rising since what they did at Ember Island. Maybe now, the Dai Li will think twice about attacking us here."

Jinora looked surprised. "Wait, Dai Li? The elite agents of the Federation?"

Sai nodded. "They have been hunting me. They attacked us at Ember Island, during my firebending training, and again on my way here. We came here on the advice of Opal Beifong, who told us this is one of the most remote buildings on the planet."

-"So that's why she signed the treaty. Opal wants to protect you. Maybe the girl is right, this could have bought you some significant time to master airbending. You'll need all the advantages you can get, with the way the world is headed."

"Hold on there, I first need time to finish my firebending training. Sozu has agreed to train me, but it's going to take some time."

Jinora thought for a moment. "That would make it very difficult for you to hide your identity as the Avatar. You look like an earthbender, dress like an airbender and are a firebender. The airbenders here _will_ put two and two together. That would put you at risk."

"I'm already at risk. But like you said, the treaty buys us time, at the very least."

Juji had an idea. "The Dai Li aren't completely incompetent. They knew to attack you at the house of one of the world's most renowned firebenders. It won't be difficult for them to figure out that we were traveling to an Air Temple. What if we beat them to it, by spreading rumors from all four Air Temples that the Avatar is there?"

Jinora was surprised at how good she was at thinking on her feet. "That might just work, if we pull it off right. You said you were attacked on your way here. Where was this?"

"The Xianjing Mountains, still in the United Republic."

-"Okay, so you weren't too far out yet. I'll send a message to the other Air Temples, and call in some favors. You'd be amazed what you can accomplish if you have the right resources."

Sai couldn't help a smile. "I've seen some things, and I'm not that easily impressed."

Jinora smiled as well. "If you say so. When would you like to start your airbending training?"

"As soon as I've made enough progress with firebending. Sozu, how did you describe it again so far?"

-"Textbook firebending." He turned to Jinora. "Sai is right, he is nowhere near done with firebending. It's gonna take some work to get it done."

She nodded understandingly. "Okay, then you will continue your training together. But Sai, do realize that time is a luxury you do not have, and I advise you to make haste."

"I will."

-"And you, young lady," as Jinora suddenly addressed Yang, "were you planning to ask me for tuition?"

Yang was surprised. "I, ehh... I was hoping for it, maybe, but, ehh," and she interrupted herself before regaining her composure, "wait a minute, how do you know I'm an airbender?

Jinora smiled. "The way you walk, and move. Only true airbenders are light on their feet like that."

-"Well, alright, yes, I would like to become a master."

The airbending master stood up. "Very well then. If you would follow me to you rooms, boys, you can continue your firebending, and Yang, we will go and begin your _real_ airbending training."

Their rooms were simple, but nothing too bad. A simple bed, carved out of the wall, with a mattress on it. A few niches, where they could place some candles for light. Lastly, each room had a large table in the middle, with a Pai Sho board on it.

Night would soon be falling, and they ventured down to the dining area, where a vegetarian meal had been prepared. It disappointed Sozu to learn that the Air Nation was still fully vegetarian, but he had to admit that the simple food tasted quite good.

After dinner, during most of which Sai had to fend of curious airbenders who wanted to see the Avatar, they were shown to a small living room, where there was a fireplace in the middle and four lean-back chairs. Sozu quickly lit the fire, and they finally had a moment to calm down.

Sai lit up a cigarette he'd taken from the Dai Li agents. They were down to the last few, probably for a while. He handed the stick to Yang, who passed it on to Juji, much to Sozu's displeasure.

-"It's bad enough that they are doing it, do you have to keep it up as well?"

-"Come on Sozu, you're not father. Didn't I hear you say that you agreed with Sai?"

-"Well... it still doesn't mean I agree with... this." as he gestured to the cigarette.

She sighed. "How do you think they're doing?"

-"Probably worried sick about us. Do you think Beifong got our message to them by now?"

-"Could have made it by now. Still, even if they wrote something back, it could take a while before it gets here. I didn't say where we were going, so any response would have to come back over Air Temple Island."

-"I guess it does."

Yang was staring into the fire the whole time. "You guys are lucky, you know that? Having two parents who care so much about you. Even your father, even though he may not have shown it, but he loves you both."

The siblings glanced at each other and smiled. "Yeah, I guess we are lucky." Sozu said.

-"Yang, do still not trust us?" Juji asked, so soft, if Yang hadn't been waiting for a response, she would have missed it.

She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Alright then. My mother was native to the Earth Federation. She was a refugee, what she was running from, she never told me. My father was an airbender, a total asshole. He met my mother near the edge of the Si Wong Desert, and there, he learned that she wanted to go to Republic City, and build a new life there. He offered to take her there, even take her to Air Temple Island and make her an Acolyte. On one condition: if she would only sleep with him. And she did. The result is sitting right in front of you. But he fucked her in more ways than one. When they got to the city, he ditched her somewhere in a shitty neighborhood, and left her to rot. When she finally made it to the ferry to Air Temple Island, he was waiting for her with a couple of police officers. He told them how he had kindly offered to take her back to the city, but that she wouldn't stop harassing him. And the police believed him. They took her away, and _kind and generous_ as he was, he dropped the charges, leaving her to fend for herself. And you'd think that a woman who just got to where she wanted to be, would take responsibility. She didn't. She turned into a _fucking_ junkie. How I even survived is a mystery to me. We didn't have anything. Barely had food. Everything we had, was sold for drugs. When I was seven, she ODed. In hindsight, the best thing that happened to me up until that point in my life. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran to the police, and told them about it. They were all nice and stuff, but in reality, they didn't give a fuck. At first, I tried again to go to Air Temple Island, but that fucking bastard of a father of mine kicked me off the island. After that, I swore never to set foot on that island again. With nowhere else to go, Child Services put me into an orphanage, where I would meet Sai six months later. Since there were no other airbenders to learn from, I learned what I know from water and firebenders. When we were ten, they kicked us out at the same time, and we stuck together ever since."

Her eyes never broke from the fire, the entire time she told the story. When she finally stopped talking, nobody dared move a muscle. You could hear a pin drop. Juji had a position identical to when Sai told her his story: hand covering her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. Sozu was letting his chin rest on his thumbs, and leaned on his knees.

Sai knew the siblings suddenly understood everything about her. Her resentment for their parents and authority in general. Why she never talked about her past. Her unwillingness to go Air Temple Island, even when they had nowhere else to go.

After what seemed like an eternity, Juji finally broke the silence. "My Lord, Yang... I... I am _so_ sorry."

The airbender let out a sarcastic sniff. "About what? Most of it happened before you could walk."

-"I meant trying to get you to tell it earlier. I... Sai told me it wasn't pretty, but that it was _this_ bad... I had no idea."

-"Yeah, well, I hope that you now have some insight as to why I have trust issues."

-"I do." Juji's response was firmer than Sai had expected. "And I think you're all the braver for it by telling us."

Yang smiled. "Well, I guess it did teach me something. Blood makes you related, but trust and loyalty, those are what makes a family. And you guys are closer to being a family to me than either one of my parents ever was."

Sozu smiled. "Do you really mean that?"

-"Of course I do. The only person outside of me who knows the whole story is sitting next to me." she said, as she nodded to Sai.

-"Not anymore." Juji knelt down in front of Yang, and put a hand on the airbender's knee. "We went along with Sai, but we're here just as much for you."

-"Thanks Juji. That... That means a lot to me."

-"Come here you." The girls gave each other a big hug.

"Now let's all catch a good night's sleep," Sai proposed. "We're gonna need it, because tomorrow, we start training."


	18. The Master's Way

A few weeks passed since they arrived at the Southern Air Temple. Sai had continued his firebending training with Sozu as his teacher. Now that he could actually practice with real fire, Sai proved to be quite talented at the art. His impulsive nature complimented firebending perfectly, according to Jinora. The airbenders slowly got used to the Avatar living at the Southern Air Temple again, the first one since Avatar Aang left 215 years ago.

The teachings of Suke Serizawa had sunk in, but with visual reference, Sai could see where his flaws were. Sozu proved a formidable teacher, stern yet justified. He was able to pinpoint Sai's mistakes, and they worked together like a well-oiled machine. "Again!"

"Come on man, I've been practicing this sequence all day! Haven't you got something else?"

-"Yes I do, but you're not ready. What you need to do, is improve the moments at which you draw your breath. Inhale during the blast, exhale any leftover air in between."

"That's a very specific thing, don't you think?"

-"I overheard your first lesson. Don't you remember the first thing my father taught you?"

"Firebending is not in the muscles, it's in the breath."

Sozu pointed an approving finger at him. "Bingo. So why do you always use brute strength?"

Sai sighed. "It's leftover from earthbending. That's why I always anchor myself before doing anything. That just comes natural to me. I've been doing that all my life, it's not something I can just _unlearn_ in a couple of weeks."

-"Fair enough, but the only way to get it right is my way." He thought for a moment. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

-"Good." Without any warning, Sozu spun around his axis, sweeping his foot along the ground, launching a blazing arc at Sai's feet. Sai got the idea, and with a single short blast from his hand kept his feet from being burned. But before Sai could attack himself, Sozu launched a stream of fire at Sai, which he could only block by splitting the stream around him. The Avatar shot a low kick along the ground, forcing the firebender to break his attack in order to dodge. This gave Sai the initiative again, and he quickly launched a few jabs. Sozu effortlessly deflected them, and forced Sai to keep moving. He rolled, and Sozu heard him take a deep breath, and got ready. When Sai ended up back on his feet, he shot a massive stream of fire, and Sozu did the same. The streams met in the middle, creating a wall of fire. They kept it going for several seconds before they were both forced to stop it due to fatigue. Sozu brought his hands back in front of him, and slowly exhaled.

-"That's the way it's done, Sai!"

"What do you mean?"

-"That last move! A move like that can only come from the breath. If it had been in the muscles, I could have easily won that one."

"Wait, you weren't holding back?"

Sozu smiled. "No, I really wasn't. This is what I was hoping to achieve with this little duel. Forcing you to let go of your earthbending principles and think like a firebender. And I am very pleased to tell you, that if you keeping doing just that, you have the potential to be the most powerful firebender in the world."

Sai couldn't help the grin appearing on his face. "Thank you, Master Sozu."

Sozu nodded, and they bowed to each other, it being the custom in the Fire Nation.

"Come on. I want to see how Yang is fairing in her airbending training. It's gonna be _me_ up there soon, so I might as well get me a little bit of a head start."

Sozu agreed, and they went to the front courtyard, where the airbenders were training. Sai always liked watching them. There was a grace and an elegance with which they moved, preformed their moves, and everything. Sai and Sozu were on the balcony, overlooking the courtyard as they spotted Yang in the middle.

At first, Jinora wasn't too pleased. Her style of airbending was very aggressive and direct, not unlikely, given that she had mostly learned from firebenders and spent the past five years fending for herself. It hadn't taken the master long to recognize Korra's initial style in Yang, and slowly managed to talk her around.

Upon closer assessment, Yang actually _had_ mastered most of the traditional thirty-six tiers of airbending, they just needed some polishing up.

She was put in a group a couple of years older than her, because her rough life had battle-hardened her, even if she didn't fully realize that.

-"Hold that ball right there, Yang. That's perfect!" Jinora believed in a softer approach to teaching than both Sozu and his father, for better and for worse. "Now knock those pins down!"

Ten pins, at the far end of the courtyard, in a triangle formation. The trick was to knock them all over with one move. Yang gently brought the ball over her head, before sending it on its way, hitting nine out of ten pins. So close, yet so far away.

She turned around to face Jinora, and spotted Sai overlooking the session. She waved a small gesture in his direction and Jinora looked up as well. "Care to join us, Avatar Sai?"

"I'm good. Short break from firebending."

-"Speaking of which, we should get back to work. Plenty to do." Sozu might have been a little bit of a killjoy, but he wasn't wrong.

They spent most of the afternoon doing the firebending exercises, and Sai noticed that it was a little bit easier when he wasn't referring back to his earthbending as a frame of reference. Properly tired and properly content, they went back to the dining hall, where a good, vegetarian meal had been prepared for them.

-"I can't wait to get back to low ground," Sozu complained.

Juji couldn't help but laugh. "You mean you can't wait to get back to eating steak?"

-"Partly."

-"Lighten up, the Air Nomads have been vegetarians for thousands of years, and they never starved to death."

Sai was surprised. "You've been taking history classes?"

She nodded. "Well, you three are always busy practicing bending, and watching from the sidelines becomes boring after a while. So I decided I might as well take a look into the Air Nation's culture. It's actually very interesting."

-"I'll take your word for it, sis. Now let's get eating!"

Juji let out a tiresome sigh at her brother's callous response. "You have always been an uncultured swine." Juji also began eating, as the last of them.

After dinner, they retreated to "their" living room again, and Sai opened up.

"Listen Sozu, I think it's time for me to start with my airbending training. I know I haven't fully mastered firebending, but time is of the essence here."

He nodded approvingly. "I understand. But while I do think you have made big steps over the past few weeks, you have still got a long way to go. Even so, it's your call, and I'll respect it."

"Thank you."

The rest of the evening was a lot lighter, and Yang and Sozu went to bed early, leaving Sai and Juji by the fire. They immediately cuddled together, something they didn't usually have the time or privacy for.

"I do miss this," Sai said, with a sigh.

-"Me too. But you know, it's not like we don't have our reasons. Busy times."

"Yeah. But I'm still worried. One day, the Dai Li will have had enough of waiting and they'll attack this place again, treaty or no treaty."

-"How come? They wouldn't want to instigate a war, you think?"

He did say anything, which got Juji even more worried. "You think they _want_ war?"

"Well, before I left Republic City, the Chief of Police told me that people high up the food chain in the Earth Federation still see the Republic as their land, stolen from them by Avatar Aang. That, and Captain Lee has something personal against me. I don't know what, but I don't like it."

-"Wow... I... I don't really know what to make of that. But if they do, why haven't they made a move yet? We've been here for nearly a month and nothing has happened yet."

"I don't know. But the longer we are here, the more time they have to prepare for whatever they are going to do."

-"You want to get away from this place? Opal Beifong said it, this is probably the safest building in the world right now. Even if the Dai Li would have the guts to mount an incursion into this place, what makes you think they could?"

"They found us in the middle of the mountains, I think they could figure something out."

-"Fair enough. Still, it's not just the four of us anymore. You have a very decent handle on two elements now and we have an army of airbenders backing us. That would be one hell of a fight, given what we did to them in the mountains."

"Yeah. I guess so." Sai ran his hand through Juji's short hair. "But enough politics and worrying. How are you doing? Air Nomad culture still interesting?"

-"Oh, you know, keeps one busy. I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to agree with Sozu more and more."

"About what?"

-"Meat! I miss the food from Ember Island. I miss it all." Juji started trembling a little bit in Sai's arms.

"It's all right. It's a big change for you, and I think you are doing great. This was what I meant when I said that getting into a little trouble would be good for you."

She smiled, eyes a little wet. "I'm having a hard time believing you wanted me to make a mad dash across two continents on the run from a bunch of killer earthbenders."

"Well, can't argue with results, you know?"

Despite a touch of homesickness, she laughed at his comment. "You're right. But we should be off to bed. You'll need the sleep if you're going to start airbending tomorrow."

He slowly closed his eyes. "I know. But there is one more thing we need to do before we go."

Sai reached into his inner pocket, and pulled out the pack of cigarettes of the Dai Li. There was one left. Juji was amazed. "You have had that for three weeks, and you never told us?!"

He shrugged. "Oh, you know, just waiting for the right moment. This is the absolute last one." He put it in his lips, and decided to light it with the firebending move Sozu taught him: The Matchhead. Juji was surprised at this. "He actually taught you that?"

"Yeah, we made a deal when we went to the Fire Temple on the solstice. If I would kick his ass, he would teach me this as soon as I got the hang of this whole firebending thing. I showed him all corners of the island, so he kept his end of the deal up as well."

-"I remember that alright. He was back and blue when you came back. I got the shock of my life."

"Still, it worked. He held his own fantastic against the Dai Li."

-"That's true. Settle on "can't argue with results"?"

Sai laughed. "Let's." He threw the empty pack on the fire, and Juji threw the finished butt on there as well. Sai closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let the fire flare up brighter and hotter than it had been, before letting it die down.

Juji stood up and pulled Sai on his feet. "Come on, past time for bed."

The next morning, Sai went to Jinora early. She seemed pleased to see him. "Sai, how can I help you?"

"I had a short discussion with Sozu last night, and we think it's best that I start my airbending training. I have a lot of ground to make up, don't I?"

She smiled. "Yes you do. Come with me, you need to get started right away."


	19. A Leap of Faith

-"You shouldn't be so aggressive, Sai. This is air, not fire." Jinora was calm, yet reprimanding.

"I know, I know. This just feels easier to me."

-"You shouldn't focus on what's easy, but what's right." She sighed. "You know what? We've been at this for a few weeks now, and I'm not getting through to you. You just go inside and drink a cup of tea, and when you get back, we'll go and practice gliding."

Sai quietly obeyed and went to the dining hall, where Sozu and Juji were already drinking a cup of tea.

"Got an extra in there?" He said, while he unceremoniously dumped himself next to Juji.

-"Sure we do." Sozu eyed Sai up while pouring him a cup. He looked tired. "Everything alright, kid?"

"No. I've been airbending for weeks now and I'm no closer to anything resembling _real_ airbending then I was a few weeks ago. I'm just getting frustrated, that's all."

Juji took his hand, under the table to spare her brother the discomfort, and tried to comfort him. "You do realize that's the problem, don't you? Air is your natural opposite, so it only makes sense that it is the most difficult element for you to master."

"Yeah, Jinora said that already, but still. I keep on firebending, only with air. I just can't seem to let it go."

Sozu tried his sister's approach. "Sai, this isn't something you can force."

"You forced me into firebending properly with dueling, remember?"

He looked a little bit taken with Sai's dry remark, but collected himself again. "Yes, but fire and air are spiritual opposites. Aggression against peace, that sort of thing."

Sai ignored the comment half, and got up. "Well, time for me to fail at gliding. I swear, these wingsuits are made to make this as difficult as possible."

He walked off, fully ignoring the staring siblings. Back in the courtyard, Jinora had dug up some sort of staff. "What is that for?"

She smiled. "This is an old fashioned glider. Before we got wingsuits, the Air Nomads got around with these for hundreds of years." She unfolded the glider, revealing a large orange wing, and a smaller one at the end. "It's bigger than the wingsuit, so it should be easier to glide for you to glide with it."

Skeptically, he took the glider from her. She gave him some last instructions while he positioned himself on the edge of the cliff. "Just stay calm, and let the glider do the work for you."

"Yeah, thanks, that makes me feel so much better."

He jumped, and hung on to the glider for dear life. It caught him partly, and he tried to focus bending air under the wing, but couldn't shake the feeling that he was quickly losing altitude, a feeling that was confirmed moments later.

-"Hey Sai! Nice fan you got there." Yang was suddenly hanging in the air next to him, causing him to lose concentration, but before he could fall too far, she gave him a boost.

"Damn it Yang, you shouldn't startle me like that. I'm having enough trouble as we speak."

-"I know, you're losing height quite fast."

He looked back where he came from, and saw that he was indeed quite a bit lower than the ridge he started on. They made a wide turn, taking them back to the lower courtyard. The landing was a bit rough, but not his worst.

-"Anyway," Yang continued as if nothing happened, "what is this thing? I've never seen anything like it."

"It's a glider, from before airbenders had wingsuits. Jinora said that it should be easier to glide with because it's bigger, but nope, I'm simply failing at airbending."

-"Don't be so hard on yourself, you just need to give it some time."

"Yeah, I wish someone would say something a little more concrete than that."

He folded the glider, with effort, and walked with large paces. Yang soon caught up with him, and they made it back to the South Wall, where Jinora had also come down.

-"That went a lot better in my mind."

"I'm sure it..." Sai silenced himself when he heard something in the distance. "You hear that?"

Yang and Jinora fell quiet, when they heard the whirr of an engine in the distance. Sai ran to the edge of the terrace, and saw a squadron of airplanes approach from the south, followed by two large transport helicopters.

"The Dai Li. They know were here."

-"I'll get Sozu."

Yang ran off, but Sai stopped her. "Make sure you get as many airbenders down here as you can. Jinora and I will hold them off."

She nodded, and the airplanes had reached the temple. They circled around the mountain peak, holding a perfect distance. The helicopters made their approach to the far platform, but Sai had a different idea. He kicked up two rocks, and launched them simultaneously at the flying machines. One of them climbed up, the other veered left, and much closer to him. He took a deep breath, before shooting a stream of fire at it. The side door slid open, revealing Captain Lee standing in the opening.

He and three other earthbenders jumped out, and they smashed the ground upon landing.

"Lee, you don't have to do this! Get back in your helicopter and we won't report this to the United Republic!"

He just smiled. "You think your little treaty is going to stop us? You really don't know anything, do you, _Avatar Sai_?"

"Fuck you!" Sai had just about had it. He launched a fissure at Lee, who nimbly rolled out of its way. Jinora blasted two incoming rocks out of the way, before settling on dueling the other two earthbenders. Lee shot a rock at Sai, who broke it midair, before retaliating with a blazing arc. He and his lieutenant made a wall to cover behind, before the Captain broke it down into little bullets, shooting them at Sai. He made his own wall to cover behind, when Sozu jumped down from the balcony, shooting a fire blade at Lee, who could only roll out of the way. Yang came flying back in, having a number of airbenders in tow. Now outmatched, the Dai Li agents called in support from the helicopters. A lot more agents jumped down, and the battle seemed to even out. The Dai Li held off the airbenders with no real issue, while they were forced to put five agents to fend against Sai, Yang and Sozu.

Out of nowhere, the planes suddenly changed tactics. Sai saw one of them making a violent turn the other way, making another approach to the temple. It dropped a bomb towards the battlefield, and the Dai Li agents all made a wall to cover behind. Sai knew he had only one shot at stopping it. With outstanding accuracy, he kicked up a pebble, and shot it at the incoming bomb. He quickly turned around to cover himself and Yang, who standing right beside him. The explosion of the bomb was unmistakable, really.

Sai used his time in cover. "Yang, we've got to keep those planes busy. We'll fly out into the mountains, they're after me. This way, they'll leave the temple alone."

-"But Sai, you suck at flying!"

"Could you fucking not?!" He ripped lifted the wall out of the ground, and kicked in the direction of their attackers. "Come get it, you bastards!" He and Yang ran towards the edge of the courtyard and jumped off. They opened their wings, and using all his airbending power, Sai managed to stay aloft without crashing into the lowest courtyard. a quick look over his shoulder confirmed his suspicions: the four airplanes came after them.

They dove down to the narrower canyons, hoping they would have the advantage in there. They did.

Yang was the better airbender and took the lead. She sought out a particular narrow opening, Sai following close behind her. He straightened himself, turned around, and slammed his arms together, causing the opening to close behind him. Three planes made it over, but one couldn't avoid the newly created wall anymore. The pilots used their ejection seats to launch themselves over the wall, their plane blowing behind them. Sai turned around again, continuing his run from the airplanes.

The navigator of the first plane behind them stood up, breaking apart his rock gloves to shoot them at the bending duo. Yang let herself drop onto the ground, pulling the air from under the wings of the plane, causing it to suddenly lose altitude. Unable to lift itself over a low rock, the pilots ejected as well, leaving their plane to crash and burn.

"Awesome job! Two down, two to go!" Sai was not really covering his excitement about beating back the planes like this.

-"Just keep focused on the job at hand! Celebrate later!" Yang rolled over her own axis, kicking an air slice in the direction of plane above her, but it didn't have enough oomph to do more than blow it up a few feet.

Much to the bending duo's worry, they had reached an opening in the mountains. There was another narrow canyon up ahead, but they had to cross the opening for that. The other plane was closing in below them, and fast. Before the navigator could get a good shot at them, Sai let himself drop down onto the wing of the plane, a shot a massive fire blast at the engine, disabling the mechanics. He blasted himself off the wing again, reaching the same height again. Yang was now behind him, circling around a solitary peak once while he busied himself with the third plane. They were closing in on the narrow canyon fast, but a that moment, the last navigator managed to land a hit on Yang's suit, tearing a massive hole in it, causing her to lose altitude, and fast.

"Sai! It's now or never!" She yelled after him, and he knew he had to act fast. He threw himself vertical, using the wings as an air brake. A powerful fire blade sliced the wing off, causing the plane to spiral out of control. Sai landed on the wing that was still attached, using it to push himself off, catching up with Yang, who he grabbed in mid-air. Holding on to her tight, they were headed at a column at tremendous speed. With his last ultimate effort, he blew a hole straight through, and Yang caught them before they crashed into the actual ground.

Now safely on the ground, Sai slowly let the airbender go, both of them panting from exhaustion and pure adrenaline. "You alright?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah... I think so." She let out a couple of more breaths. "You know Sai, that was amazing. You were flying like a true master."

He smiled. "I guess that whole "the right incentive"-thing really works for everything."

-"I guess it does." Yang looked up, back in the direction of the temple. "We should get back up there. Do you think they might have beaten the Dai Li?"

"No idea. But there is only one way to find out." Sai took Yang by the arm of her torn wing, and together they flew back up to the temple.

When they got back to the lower courtyard, they found it silent, much to their worry. The helicopters of the Dai Li were gone, but there was no sign of the airbenders, the Acolytes, or Sozu and Juji. Sai and Yang gave each other a worried look, and they sprinted towards the temple, past the signs of a fierce battle. They found the airbenders pinned to the wall, unable to free themselves, with their faces covered. It took Sai little effort to break their earth shackles, and they soon sought out Jinora. There was still no sign of the siblings.

"Jinora! Where are Sozu and Juji?!"

She looked up with tears in her eyes. "Sai... I'm so sorry..."

His eyes grew large. "What..?"

-"The Dai Li took them..."


	20. Pain and Rage

-"The Dai Li managed to overpower us, and the singled out Sozu as the firebender. Without any airbenders to stop them from raiding the temple, their leader recognized Juji and loaded them into the helicopter. He told me that he would be taking them to the Yincang Caves in the Earth Federation. He added that if you want them back alive, you and Yang need to go there, alone."

"Yang, pack your things, get another wingsuit and get to Maya. We need to get to them _now_."

-"It's a trap, Sai."

"What are you suggesting? That we just leave them in the hands of a maniac?!"

Yang was slightly taken aback by Sai's sharp response. "Of course not. I'm just saying, whatever we do next, he has planned for it. The Dai Li might not be the earthbenders they once were, but Lee is smart, methodical and thorough. He knows that you'd do anything to save them."

Sai sighed, and calmed down a little. "You're right. But what do we do next? Like I said, we can't just abandon them."

Jinora offered a suggestion. "They violated the treaty. If I were to call it in, the United Republic could mount an operation."

Sai immediately shot down the suggestion. "No, that wouldn't work. As soon as that happened, they would kill them anyway, because they need me out of the way."

-"What do you mean?"

"I'm the Avatar. This is Sozin's strategy all over again." He got bewildered looks from both airbenders. "Fire Lord Sozin wiping out the Air Nomads to get to Avatar Aang? I had to hear it second-hand from Juji and, a couple of airbenders don't even know their own heritage? Fuck!"

-"Calm down, Sai," Jinora said, with a soothing voice.

He took a deep breath and continued. "Sozin wiped out the Air Nomads so that the Avatar wouldn't stand in his way of world dominance. Maybe the aspirations of the Earth Federation aren't that big, and they just want to invade the Republic. But they know I would be on the side of the Republic, doing everything in my power to stop them. Now they have leverage over me." He said, face falling as he spoke those last few words.

-"Okay, I won't report this attack until we figure this thing out."

Sai walked over to the railing, leaning heavily on it and letting his head hang. Yang cautiously followed him, not knowing what he'd do next.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let them get this close. But I did, and now we're all targets."

Yang hated the sight of defeat on him. "Sai, this isn't your fault. They chose to go with you, remember? They knew the risk, and agreed with it. They both did." She hesitated for a moment. "I did. And no matter what you decide to do next, I'm with you, you know that."

A small smile cracked across his face. "I appreciate that, Yang. But I still painted a target on their backs the moment we docked at Ember Island. First they raided the Serizawa Manor, now this... I'm just not sure what to think of it all. We have to get them back."

-"Are you saying you'd... give yourself up?"

"Got any better suggestions?"

Yang opened her mouth, but couldn't find anything to say.

"I don't have a choice. Plus, I'd like to see them contain me. I have a pretty decent handle on three out of four elements, that would have to be a pretty sturdy prison."

-"I know, but still. The chances of us walking out there are not good, and you know it."

"I do. But that's an occupational hazard." She didn't respond. "We have some preparing to do."

They went to Jinora, who took them back to her study. After Sai convinced her of his standpoint, she took out a large map of the world and an atlas.

-"The Yincang Caves are not far from the Northern Air Temple, under a day's worth of flying."

"Shit, that's all the way across the Federation. It'll take us a week to get up there!"

-"Maybe not." Jinora had a plan, that much was apparent. "The Dai Li Captain only said that you need to come alone, he didn't say anything about people helping you get there."

Sai was intrigued now. "What do you have in mind?"

-"I can call Opal, tell her that you need to take Maya to the Northern Air Temple fast. Her twin brothers are the patriarchs of Zaofu, they have a whole range of military equipment at their disposal. I'm sure they can spare a cargo plane."

-"So can the Dai Li. We'll never catch them on the way." Yang wasn't too optimistic about their chances.

"That won't matter. They have the initiative, but they don't know that we can save this much time. That gives us an advantage."

They both nodded approvingly, and they set their plan in motion. It didn't take long for Jinora to arrange the plane, and soon, they were ready to leave.

-"Sai, Yang?" Jinora had tears in her eyes as they looked down at her from Maya. "Just... Be careful."

Sai smiled at her. "We will be. Thank you for everything, Master Jinora."

With one mighty swing of her tail, Maya took off again.

They kept on flying through the night to Zaofu, making good time. They switched between sleeping and flying, and eventually made it to the metal city just after noon of the following day. They were taken to the leaders directly. Wei and Wing Beifong looked just alike, and the fact that they dressed similarly didn't help at all. Also present was Suyin. They all sported worried looks, but they had received Opal's call.

Sai and Yang hadn't slept much, or very well. The elderly metalbender expressed her concern. "Avatar Sai... are you alright?"

-"Tell me what Opal told you and I can fill you in."

One of the twins interrupted them. "Opal told us to prepare a military cargo plane immediately, capable of flying a sky bison to the Northern Air Temple. She didn't say why."

Sai looked over to Yang, and she nodded. "Two of our friends were taken by the Dai Li. They have proposed an exchange: them for me. They are being held in a cave complex near the Northern Air Temple." That the Dai Li attacked them in the Air Nation was something he kept quiet.

The twins gave each other and their mother a worried look. Suyin posed the question hanging between the Beifongs. "And you really think it's wise to give yourself up?"

"Truth be told, I have no clue what I'm doing. But they got captured because of me, and I can't just leave my friends when they need me the most."

Suyin nodded understandingly. "I can appreciate that, Sai. But I must urge you to think this through properly, and not do anything rash."

"I'm not. I talked this over and decided that this is the best way. I have a decent handle on three elements now, I think I can figure something out if they imprison me."

-"Alright Sai. I'll get you to the plane." It was either one of the twins that had spoken. "Meet us with your bison at the airfield."

Sai and Yang went to Maya, and flew to the airfield on a nearby flat stretch of land. Wei and Wing were waiting for them in a hangar with one massive plane in it. It taxied out onto the runway, and Yang gently moved Maya into the plane, while the twins gave Sai some last-minute advice.

-"The pilots have been instructed where to fly. I recommend you to jump out a few miles from the caves, so that Dai Li won't suspect you weren't coming alone."

"I will. Thank you for everything."

-"Don't mention it, kid. Take care of yourself."

With that, Sai and Yang both boarded the plane, and it took off.

The plane ride was a good time for Maya to catch some sleep again, they didn't know what was in store for them at the Yincang Caves. Sai and Yang tried to sleep as well, but their attempts proved mostly fruitless.

The pilots woke them up when they were nearly there. They opened the cargo ramp, and the massive beast gently slid down the ramp, and when she was clear, she soared through the sky again. Sai and Yang thanked the pilots for everything, and jumped after Maya.

They quickly caught up, landing gently on the saddle. It took them a while to find the entrance, but they finally landed at the cave. Soon, four Dai Li agents showed up. They silently gestured Sai and Yang to go inside. One of the agents preceded them, the twisting cave being lit by small bulbs every couple of feet. It wasn't much, but they could reasonably see where they were going.

Eventually, they reached a large open hall. Light here was brighter, and Sai could see just how high it was. Easily three normal stories. There were open gantries following the long walls, where they had entered on the short side of the rectangular room. There were lots of Dai Li agents standing on them, all watching Sai and Yang. The four agents escorting them turned around and walked back in the direction they came from.

But it was all to do for what was in the middle. There were two walls, and Sozu and Juji were securely cuffed to them. Lee was standing in between them.

-"You came. You're a better friend than I gave you credit for, I must say that." The smug self-satisfaction was dripping from the voice of the captain. "Now, as you can see, you are completely surrounded. We control all the exits, so don't bother trying to escape with force. If you're leaving here, it's on my terms. Understand?"

Sai just slowly nodded. Even though he was at least a 60 feet away from Captain Lee, the agent did see it. "Good. Now get over here, and I'll release your friends."

He looked over to Yang, and she nodded. He took a few steps forward, then stopped. "You let them go. Like you said, I have nowhere to go anyway."

Lee eyed him up, and eventually gave him a bit of lean. "One goes when you get here, the second when you're in cuffs."

Sai nodded again, and walked up to Lee, about twenty feet in front of him. Lee undid the cuffs of Juji, and she immediately sprinted over to Sai and hugged him. "You came! Iwassoscaredanddidn'tknowwhattodoand..."

"It's alright. I'm here. Are you okay?" Sai never took his gaze off Lee while he was talking to her.

-"I'm fine."

"Good. Get over to Yang. She's going to take you away when I get Sozu out."

She walked away, and stood behind Yang. Two agents emerged from the walls on either side of Sai, and cuffed him securely. With his arms and legs restrained, they retreated back to the wall they came from and shut it behind them.

"You have me, now let him go too!"

Captain Lee just stood there, with a sly smile on his face. "I never told you why I did this, did I?"

"I'm not really in the mood for stories."

-"Oh but you will be. You see, I come from the Republic, just like you. I wasn't always an Earth Federation citizen. But then Sozin's Comet came back. My father and brother were firebenders, and were under a protection racket from the triad, and they were forced into fighting when the comet came back. Otherwise, me and my mother would get it. And you know what happened? Avatar Korra killed them both. Blew them right out of the sky, leaving them horribly broken. My mother never got over it. But I swore that I would find you, and I would break you."

Sai was more on edge than he had ever been. "So what? Are you going to kill me now? Would that make you happy?"

-"Oh no, then you'll just be reborn. I will break your _soul_, and you will regret the day you mocked me."

Sai took a few steps forward, slightly hindered by the cuffs. "Don't you dare..."

Lee's eyes narrowed. "Avatar Sai... _Consider us even._" With a single move from his hand, he moved a block from the wall Sozu was cuffed to forward. Not far, but it was too much.

A dry snap broke through the otherwise silent hall. Lee had forced a brick into the back of Sozu's neck, breaking it and killing him.

-"NOOO!" Yang and Juji sprinted to Sozu, and Yang was blasting away at Lee. "YOU - MOTHER - FUCKING - SON OF A BITCH!"

He easily dodged all attacks. With a single gesture from his hand, his men on the high gantries started breaking down their rock gloves into bullets, shooting them At Yang and Juji, who were now beside Sai. They ducked, but the bullets kept hanging in mid-air, all around them.

Sai hadn't moved an inch. Yang turned around to face him, and saw that his eyes were closed. The rock bullets stopped coming as the agents they weren't hitting anything but air. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, revealing the white glow of the Avatar State. A spike came up from the ground, breaking through his cuffs. He threw his hands outward, shooting all bullets back where they came from. Along the entire length of the room, two massive walls of fire rose up so that they were shielded from the Dai Li agents. Sai slowly walked forward, facing Lee. The captain shot multiple rocks at Sai, but he braced, and broke all of them. With one massive air blast, he blew Lee all the way against the far wall, easily a hundred feet from where he was standing. Lee looked up at Sai, and decided to turn around, before punching a hole through the back wall, which turned out to only be a few feet thick.

Juji ran after Sai, and tried to stop him, by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sai, no!"

He turned head to Juji, his face angrier than it had ever been. Sai smacked her in the face with the back of his hand, knocking her back a few feet. Then he launched himself after Lee with his firebending, propelling himself forward. He blew out the entire back wall on his way out, straight after the captain, who was sliding along the ground on his rock shoes. Sai shot a massive stream of fire at him, while Lee veered off to the left, narrowly escaping Sai's attack. He made a feeble attempt to attack the airborne Avatar by shooting up three rocks with a swirl around his axis but these all missed. Sai sent a fissure along the ground, and Lee was launched into the air at the high speed he was sliding along the ground at.

The captain broke off a slab of rock from the cliff he was flying past, and moved it into Sai's path, but he just flew straight through. Sai tackled Lee in mid-air, but Lee worked himself free and landed on the ground, cracking it at the spot. He tried to slide away again, but Sai was giving him no leniency. He had pulled water from a lake he had flown over, crashing down a huge volume on Lee, who couldn't avoid it this time. Lee ended up on his back, and Sai shot a small jab at each of his limbs pinning them all to the ground as they turned to ice as soon as they hit.

Sai lifted a stream of rocks, shot a massive blast of fire from one and a blast of air from the other, sending all four elements high into the air, formed a spike with each one, and brought them all down on the captain, piercing his heart.

Sai closed his eyes and gently let himself descend to the ground, passing out when he touched down.


	21. The United Fleet

Sai woke up with a headache the likes of which he had never felt before. He shot upright, but soon regretted that decision. So did Yang.

"Sai! You're awake!" She ran over from the corner as he tried to sit instead of lie down, and she pushed him back. "You've been out for quite a while, you need to take it easy."

"Yang... What happened?" But it all came flashing back to him. How Captain Lee killed Sozu. How he chased Captain Lee through the mountains, and murdered him on the spot. "Sozu is really..."

The airbender nodded cautiously. "Yeah. And you got Lee, you got him good." She fell silent for a while, as he was forced to face the fact that it hadn't all been a nightmare, but the cold, hard, truth. He gently sat up, and this time the dizziness didn't get the better of him.

"How long have I been out exactly?"

-"Nearly three days. After what happened in the Yincang Caves, Juji and I didn't know how much longer it would still be standing. You blew out the entire back wall on your way out, and it was going to collapse at some point. So I got Maya, and Juji and I took Sozu with us and flew after you. You weren't very difficult to follow: we saw spikes of every element rise up from the air, and you brought them all down on Lee. By the time we had fully caught up to you, you were unconscious and Lee was dead. We put you on Maya as well, and decided to fly to the Northern Air Temple, as it was the closest safe haven, but by the time we got there, it had been abandoned. Only a few lemurs remained, everything else was gone. Since neither you or Juji were in any state to make a call, I decided to continue flying north, to the Northern Water Tribe, as it seemed like our best bet. But we soon came across the first fleet of the United Forces, and we landed on this ship. You've been asleep here ever since."

Sai just let it all come over him. He didn't care about any of the technicals. All that really mattered to him was that Sozu, his firebending teacher, his friend, was dead. "Is Sozu on board this ship?"

-"Yes. We put him in the mortuary."

"Can you take me to him?"

Yang apologetically shook her head. "Not just yet. You need to rest, and drink something."

But Sai wouldn't have it. "I don't need rest, I've been asleep for three days. It's past time I do something more productive."

-"There is another reason. As soon as you set foot out that door, there are four soldiers waiting for you, all with orders to take you to the guy running this joint. You're not going anywhere until you talk to him. So my advice is that you take it easy, and drink something."

He sighed. "Fine. Do you have something in here?"

Yang walked over the place she had been sitting, and pulled out a can of fizzy soft drink. "Here. It has a buttload of sugar in it, to get you back up to strength. You're going to feel very faint at first."

She handed him the open can, and he took a few sips. It was disgustingly sweet, but he forced himself to drink it anyway.

Once he had finished the can, Yang helped him to his feet, and he walked to the door. Cautiously, he opened it, half expecting four blasts of fire to come his way. That didn't happen, but there were four massive soldiers waiting for him. The one with the most brass on his shoulders spoke first. "Avatar Sai, we have orders to take you to the officer in command as soon as you woke up. Are you strong enough to walk?"

Sai decided that he was, and nodded once.

-"Good. Follow us." The first two started walking, and when Yang joined him, they followed the two, while the remaining soldiers brought up the rear. They walked to an elevator, which took them to a higher level, but not quite on the bridge. Once they got out of the elevator, the soldiers led them into a spacious office, which only had small windows, but that was probably a good thing. The walls were covered in pictures of ships, airplanes, newspaper reports of battles, decorations and medals with their descriptions. Behind a desk on the far side of the room, a man who was about sixty stood up. He was wearing a simple blue uniform, but it left no doubt about his rank. His parting was drawn past a top notch ruler, and a pair of golden reading spectacles bridged his nose, which he removed as soon as he noticed the group entering.

-"General, the Avatar and his friend," one of the soldiers said. The general nodded, and the soldiers left the room.

-"Avatar Sai," he began, and extended a hand. Sai shook it, albeit weakly. "I'm sorry about what happened to your friend."

"Yeah, I'm sure you are." Sai didn't mean to sound callous, but he was in no condition to precisely control his tone. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

-"I am General Valka. What I want with you is a bit of a longer story."

"What do you mean with that?"

-"The attack on the Southern Air Temple got out. I had orders to call it in as soon as I got solid confirmation. And I did."

Sai turned to Yang. "You told him?"

She slowly nodded. "I didn't have a choice. I was stuck with an unconscious Avatar, and Sozu..." She sighed. "Even the most seasoned liar couldn't have talked his way out of a situation like that."

-"It wasn't only her," Valka continued. "You killed the captain of the elite army of the Earth Federation. They were furious, and demanded your head, but you were missing until you showed up on my ship. When Yang told me about what happened at the Southern Air Temple and in the Yincang caves, I relayed the message to President Lei, as he ordered me to. Fire Lord Kazuo was equally as furious when he heard about what happened to the son of a high nobleman. I imagine Suke Serizawa pressured him, but coupled with the attack on Ember Island half a year ago, he agreed to support all war efforts of the United Republic."

"The Republic declared war."

Valka nodded. "Our forces are mobilizing as we speak. I was ordered to return the first fleet to Republic City, to defend it at all costs. But we have to sail around the tip of the Federation, unless we want to take an enormous risk to save maybe half a day."

"Where do the other nations stand?"

-"The Water Tribes have declared neutrality, and the Air Nation will defend the United Republic, but they will not fight as the main force. The five leaders of the Air Temples stand behind the Republic, but they won't seek out a fight. We also have several states of the Federation behind us, the most important one being Zaofu. It's a stronghold, and we can mount an invasion from there, if we can hold it."

"So where do I fit into the picture?" Sai asked.

-"The President is gathering all his allies in the city. He wants to draw up a political message, and if the Avatar is with him, he has extra leverage over the Earth Federation."

"Really? He values the political influence of fifteen year-old?"

Valka and Yang smiled at the realization that Sai hadn't lost his sense of humor when he was out. "We can agree that you're not just any fifteen year-old. Even if it is just your title, it carries weight. From what Yang told me, you have come a long way with earth and fire, and were just starting with air."

Sai nodded. "Yes, but I wasn't done with fire or air, and I haven't even started with water. Plus, I'm kind of stuck for a teacher on all three."

Yang spoke up. "Jinora said that I could go up for my tattoos if I wanted to. I have pretty much mastered airbending, I could teach you everything you need to know."

But Valka brushed off this statement. "All of this can be tabled for a later discussion. The important thing now is that I get you to Republic City."

"Alright. But first, I want to see my friend."

-"I understand." Valka called for one of the soldiers to escort the two to the morgue. Once they got there, the soldier quickly left, and Sai hesitated to open the door.

-"Juji is in there," Yang said. "She hasn't left since we brought her here." She hesitated for a little bit. "You get in there now. She'll want to see you."

He turned the wheel of the door, and it opened. Juji was sitting in the far corner of the dimly lit room, staring at a particular lid in the wall.

"Hey," he managed softly.

She looked up. "Hey." Sai saw that there was something off about her face, but he couldn't quite make out what from the far side of the room. Juji leant back into the dark corner, and Sai made a small flame in his hand to see her better.

What he saw was shocking. The left side of her face had been badly bruised, but it had been healing poorly. It left a horrible yellow-ish green mark on her otherwise cute face. Sai's eyes grew wide. "What happened to you?"

She sighed. "You did." It fell silent as Sai stumbled back a few steps, but he couldn't think of anything to say. "How much do you remember from what you did that day?" She asked as she saw how puzzled he was.

He sighed. "Just bits and pieces." Sai hesitated. "Fear. In everything I remember, there is fear. Sozu, you, Yang, even Lee. There is nothing but fear in all of you."

Juji nodded. "We were all terrified of you. I tried to stop you, and then you hit me. You were beside yourself with rage. After you slapped me out of the way, you went after Lee, and there was nothing we could do to stop you."

Sai could hardly process it. He had actually hit her, and he couldn't remember a damn thing about it. What's worse, he hadn't been on control of himself when he did. "Juji, I... I am _so_ sorry."

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure you are."

"I didn't know Lee was going to do this. He said that if I would turn myself over, he would let you two go. He blindsided me, and Sozu had to pay the price." He fell silent for a bit. "And then he did as well."

She stood up. "Well, if you're feeling pleased with yourself, think again. You have single handedly started a war, Sai. Exactly what we have been trying to prevent."

"I'm not here to fight with you, I'm here to see how you were doing. Whatever people in fancy suits high up the food chain have thought up, I don't care right now. All I want to hear is how you are feeling right now."

Juji sighed again. "I'm falling apart. I just lost my brother, my boyfriend can't control his temper, and my father is ensuring a world war is going to happen. Yang seems to be the last one who can keep a cool head in all this."

"I guess."

-"Look, I just want to get Sozu back home. He deserves a Fire Nation funeral. My parents must be there, and I don't want to have it in the United Republic. I want it on Ember Island."

Sai nodded. "You're right. I'll talk to the general, he seems to be reasonable. I'll get him home." He walked to the door, when Yang was still waiting for him on the other side.

-"Sai?" Juji sounded a little more hopeful. He turned around to hear her out again. But she just smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

_I had this story mostly done a while back, and this is where I am with writing now. All those of you who are following this, I really appreciate it. Updates will be much slower now, since this isn't my main project at the time, that's Team Player. I'm not going to let this story end unfinished, though. All in good time, but I want about six or seven more chapters. That is the plan as stands._


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